But a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong." The only sign of weakness is, not that you make mistakes but not being able to admit your wrongdoing. In the novel, All the King's Men, some of the characters were able to admit their wrong doings, while others refused to believe they were wrong. But altogether, Jack Burden, Cass Masterns, and Adam Stanton prove the validity of this statement. .
Jack Burden was one of the few characters in the novel that actually tried to repair his mistakes. Jack was a loyal friend and a helpful worker to Willie Stark, who orders him to "dig up dirt" on Judge Irwin, an accomplice of MacMurfee. Judge Irwin was like a father to Jack, but since it was his job to do what Willie demanded he knew he would have to do what Willie said, even if it was someone who was dear to him. Jack comes across some old newspaper documents where he finds that Judge Irwin was bribed to dismiss and receive money and estate in return. Jack goes to Judge Irwin's home where he talks with him over dinner. Jack's plans to blackmail him fails, when the Judge admits he was wrong and accepts the consequences of his actions. Jack then leaves to visit his mother who told him that his real dad, Judge Irwin committed suicide. This is where Jack's mistake becomes apparent. The Judges death made Jack realize that he had never done anything to harm him and so he was blackmailing him for his own selfish purposes. His mother confesses that she has loved Judge Irwin all along and has to leave her new husband. To make himself feel better, Jack lies to his mother, and tells her that Judge Irwin killed himself not because of anything that Jack did, but because of his failing health. He thinks of this lie as his last gift to her. Jack "repaired the evils", or at least tried when he said this. His pride did not conquer his actions and he was able to accept what he did and move on with a new out look on life.