Matthew Guzdial, Post Two

As the novel Primary Colors moves on, the narrator, Henry Burton, learns more and more about the questionable morality of his boss, Mr. Stanton. However, despite all he, and the audience along with him, learns, Mr. Burton never once considers leaving the campaign. There are several important reasons behind this.

The first, and most obvious, of the reasons behind Burton’s failure to leave the Stanton campaign is that, without him, there would no longer be a story. The narrator might be switched of course, and the audience would still know of the public half of the story, but without Henry Burton remaining with Jack Stanton, the entire premise of the novel is ruined.

But, the most important, and most subtle reason that Henry Burton does not leave the campaign has to do with the man’s love of the “game”. This is made most clear when Burton is speaking to his mother and stepfather in chapter five during the Los Angeles fundraising event. Though he does attempt to belay his statements by claiming them to be only temporary, Burton does try to explain the “great, tactile pleasure” he gets from working with Stanton. Later, in the Mansion meeting directly after New Hampshire, we learn specifically what parts of the campaign Henry Burton likes, being “figuring out what came next tactically and strategically”. This unconscious enjoyment of the game of politics, mixed in with Burton’s closeness to both Stantons is what seems to keep Burton going through all the tough points. As the audience we have a spectacular view of his mind, which always seems to race when something goes wrong, looking for what to do next.