Essay for "All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren. Man As a Slave to Knowledge

        In Robert Penn Warren's novel, All the King's Men, Jack Burden states, "The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing a man can't know. He can't know whether knowledge will save him or kill him (9)." Jack's statement reveals that man is enslaved by knowledge. Familiar sayings such as, "Ignorance is bliss," and, "what you don't know can't hurt you" also state this point. Examples of knowledge enslaving man are seen in the …

…finally understands that, "with knowledge you can face up to anything, for knowledge is power (313)."         So man is enslaved by knowledge, whether it be through skeletons in the closet, or false knowledge, or uncomfortable knowledge. Actions are guided by knowledge. Usually, actions are thought about first. Also, some people try to enslave others with knowledge, but fall victim themselves, one way or another. Knowledge is power. That is why man can be enslaved by it.