In the novel All the King's Men, Sugar Boy is Willie Stark's driver, whose personality reflects the way Willie lives his life on the edge, always seeking danger and discovering ways to escape it. Sugar Boy's fast driving and swift movements indicate his willingness to comply with Willie's lifestyle. These characteristics of Sugar Boy are seen through the eyes of Jack, who sees him as a machine obeying his master's orders. The change in tone of the passage from the novel, which goes from an enjoyable car ride to one of displeasure and danger, underscores Sugar Boy's quick, unsteady behavior and motivation to keep up with Willie.
The passage from the novel begins with a tone shift. Jack starts describing watching Sugar Boy drive "a pleasure" (3), then quickly refers to him as a reckless driver. The sentence following the change in tone is extensive, including quick moving, uncontrolled actions. The large amount of words compiled into one sentence creates tension and anxiety, indicating how Sugar Boy drives; careless, and fast, causing so many things to happen at one time. To Jack, Sugar Boy is a machine, an "exhibition of muscular co-ordination" (3). Just like a machine obeys his master, Sugar Boy obeys Willie. For example, Willie "love[s]" (3) Sugar Boy's uncontrollable driving and tells him to go faster. Thus, Sugar Boy's driving is due to Willie's influence on him. Sugar Boy's name also represents his behavior because he constantly eats sugar cubes, causing him to always act frenzied. His stuttering portrays his hyper personality as well because his mind is thinking too fast for him to react, thus causing him to take risks and act senselessly.