“‘Hell, no,’ the Boss said, studying the picture, cocking his head to one side and squinting at it, ‘but I was porely when they took it. I was like I’d had the cholera morbus. Get in there busting some sense into that Legislature, and it leaves a man worsen’n the summer complaint.’”

Willie puts a lot of effort into crafting a public perception of himself that supports the idea that he is a hard-working, outsider politician from the country. As he looks at his own picture, he makes a connection between his unhealthy appearance and the work he does, fighting against the career politicians he runs against.

“But, then, who the hell is this in the back seat of the big black Cadillac that comes ghosting through the town? Why, this is Jack Burden. Don’t you remember little Jack Burden? He used to go out in his boat in the afternoon on the bay to fish, and come home and eat his supper and kiss his beautiful mother good night and say his prayers and go to bed at nine-thirty.”

Jack struggles throughout the novel with his self-perception, unable to understand and accept how he changes over time. When he returns to his hometown in Chapter 1 with Willie to pressure Judge Irwin, he thinks of how his career in politics has robbed him of his childhood innocence.

“It was a weird mixture of facts and figures on one hand (his tax program, his road program) and of fine sentiments on the other hand (a faint echo, somewhat dulled by time, of the quotations copied out in the ragged, boyish hand in the big ledger).”

At first, Willie is not an exciting political candidate, relying on facts to captivate the electorate rather than impassioned speeches and interesting stories. It shows how he initially has faith in the people and the government to listen to reason and vote in their own best interests.