"All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren.

In the novel All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren, through his memorable character Jack Burden, analyzes the relationship between action and consequences and their far-reaching effects. Time, a linear measurement, differs much from its cousin, history, a record of the past whose hands touch the present and shape the future. Ellis Burden departing from his wife and Jack, Judge Irwin accepting a bribe from the American Electric Power Company, and Jack digging for dirt …

…William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying, Jack attempts to evaluate the significance of the past, present, and future. Without a concrete definition of the three time periods and good understanding of the past, Jack, Darl, and man alike cannot survive. Self-understanding must precede the understanding of history; otherwise, man will surely lose his way navigating through the web of history and blindly encounter the ever-present "drowsy spider" without knowing its awesome prowess and power.