This character is given to periods of what he calls "the Great Sleep", in which he shuts his life down and slumbers. Originally a directionless man who fails to marry his love Anne Stanton and who can't complete his dissertation on his great-uncle Cass Mastern, he soon abandons his wife Lois Seager because he can't relate to her as more than just a sexual partner. His life is changed by an encounter while working for the "Chronicle" newspaper, leading him to became the hired hand of a demagogue who has him discover blackmailing material to use 
This character is given to periods of what he calls "the Great Sleep", in which he shuts his life down and slumbers. Originally a directionless man who fails to marry his love Anne Stanton and who can't complete his dissertation on his great-uncle Cass Mastern, he soon abandons his wife Lois Seager because he can't relate to her as more than just a sexual partner. His life is changed by an encounter while working for the "Chronicle" newspaper, leading him to became the hired hand of a demagogue who has him discover blackmailing material to use against political enemies. FTP, who is this narrator of "All the King's Men"?
This character is given to periods of what he calls "the Great Sleep", in which he shuts his life down and slumbers.
Jack Burden