The knowledge which life brings to a person is often a rise to the meaning of life, but in All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren the reader comes to realize that knowledge can become the greatest downfall. While knowledge brings fulfillment to many, the novel's protagonist, Jack Burden, finds that knowledge can bring unhappiness and a reluctance to believe in those things which have no true definition. As people learn from experiences in life, however, it becomes easier to conceive the idea that there could be a greater being.

I'll draw you another picture. It is a picture of a man trying to paint a picture of a sunset. But before he can dip his brush the color always changes and the shape. Let us give a name to the picture which he is trying to paint: knowledge. Therefore if the object which a man looks...