All the King's Men

The hospital that Willie wants to build is a symbol that represents his desire to triumph over the establishment politicians who tried to use his political career for their own benefit. Willie considers himself a man of the people and a different politician from many of the ones who came before him. While others focus on the cities and represent elitism, Willie is from the country and considers himself to be an ordinary man. He resents being used early in his career to steal votes from MacMurfee and commits to helping the people. He believes that he can do so by building a gigantic hospital, the best in the country, and letting anyone who needs it use it. However, his emphasis on its grandeur hints at his greed and need for revenge: “Boy, I tell you, I’m going to have a cage of canaries in every room that can sing Italian grand opera and there ain’t going to be a nurse who hasn’t won a beauty contest at Atlantic City and ever bedpan will be eighteen-carat gold” (139). Willie wants the hospital to be impressive not only in its everyday application for the people of the state but also in its appearance.