Talk:An American Dream (novel)

Untitled
Does anyone see any reason to keep the bottom paragraph? It isn't useful or well written.Cotemaltayle 22:42, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, it sounds like a bad extract from a grade 9 english paper.

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one WikiProject had rated the article as stub, and the rating on other projects was brought up to Stub class. BetacommandBot 13:29, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

Differences between the book and the film
The 1966 film starring Stuart Whitman and Janet Leigh was vastly different to the book. All the major events in Rojack's life have taken place during a full moon, which has influenced him and spoken to him in some way.

Specific differences:

In the book Rojack enjoys strangling his wife then throws her body off the balcony to make it look like suicide. In the film, she slips off the edge of the balcony during their argument. He does not push her off. In the book, Rojack lives and Cherry dies. In the film, Rojack dies and Cherry lives. In the book, the mob aren’t pursuing him and there is no mention of police corruption! In the book, Rojack and Cherry have never met before Deborah's death. In the film, they had an affair years ago and Rojack got her pregnant and walked out! Ruta is a very important character in the book but minor in the film.

The words: "An American Dream" do not occur in the book at all besides on the cover. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.40.178.227 (talk) 16:21, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

In the book, Rojack strangles Deborah and then lies by her body. In the movie however, Deborah's body falls out of a thirty story building and is then run over by a car Torioneason (talk) 15:38, 27 September 2018 (UTC)

In the book they give Rojack the sense that he doesn't really care for nor enjoy his role as the host of his show, however in the movie he takes his role on the show very seriously and is a full participate in the show and answer every caller with assertive interaction. He really embraces the spotlight and platform that the show gives him.Torioneason (talk) 15:38, 27 September 2018 (UTC)

Removal of song disambiguation
I just happened to be looking at my contribution list, and I noticed that the first non-anonymous edit I ever made was recently backed out. Honestly, that's fine with me...I don't even remember who the band is or what the song was, but I'm curious as to why it was backed out. Many songs have their own article and would be searched for by that name, so it would make sense to me to continue to include it (though I'd bump it up with the other disambiguation comment). Thoughts? --Rob (talk) 22:18, 10 June 2009 (UTC)

Annotated Bibliography
Bibliography additions for fall, 2018. Each student should choose two articles to include here, then significantly edit the article proper by Friday, 9/28. You could also help with a revised and expanded plot synopsis as a substitute for one of your articles. Or, you could just do it all! —Grlucas (talk) 17:26, 20 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Leo Bersani starts his review of Norman Mailer's An American Dream by stating that many people who went in reading it may have thought it to be a political novel because of how the beginning of the story starts out but will soon find out that it is not the case as you keep reading. He goes on to compare Mailer in An American Dream to Balzac. These two are similar in their way of thinking when it comes to social maneuvering and power. They share similar notions of what it goes on at the top and their extreme obsession with political power. They are both restless when it comes to getting power and being able to keep that power. These notions about the obsession of power is shown through characters such as Barney Kelly by way of having the power of telepathy to possess the stock market and also his longing to having a threesome with Rojack and Ruta: "pitch and tear and squat and kick, swill and grovel on the Lucchese bed, fuck until our eyes were out, bury the ghost of Deborah by gorging on her corpse"(122). Rojack is so engulfed in Barney Kelly's energy that he starts to feel these "unfamiliar desires"(122). MGray96 (talk) 16:53, 20 September 2018 (UTC)


 * This article is about the “Meta-Modernism” in Mailer’s works. In An American Dream, Broer describes the familiar modern elements that each character was taken from. These elements include the novel’s focus on psychopathic violence and its self-reflexive style. Broer also writes about the modernistic approach in the novel, for instance, he mentions Rojack's wish to climb the social ladder and what influenced his relationship with Deborah. He also talks about the modernization their roles on the novel. The novel is not supposed to be realistic but, some people may relate to different behaviors by the different characters. Broer states that “Mailer invokes his familiar metaphysical aesthetic of primitive God at war with a technological devil to explain America’s schizophrenic soul, one that continues the tradition of social criticism of these earlier novels in which good and evil exist as polar opposites” in this case, the novel starts with Rojack’s military background. He was portrayed as a war hero. Also, the novel shows Rojack’s darker side of being very sad, depressed and a murderer. Bridgetterobb (talk) 05:17, 28 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Cowan goes to explain how the American culture is what Mailer attempts to reflect in his writings. Instead of imposing an agenda, Cowan proposes that Mailer attempts to convey both sides of the extremes that are upheld by what is achievable with the American Dream.  pittmanraven (talk) 22:42, 21 February 2021 (UTC)


 * In her evaluation of An American Dream, Fetterly relates the writings of Mailer to the power struggle between male and female in her article "“Hula, Hula,” Said the Witches". From the start of her work, Fetterly points out the story’s overload of typical masculine powers such as the Mafia, the CIA, and government and media agencies littered with men in power. It is this setting, Fetterly points out, that Mailer’s obsession with male power and masculinity can be shown through violent acts on women at the hands of men. It is through this violence that Rojack is able to feel his masculinity, his male-given power over women. The women in Rojack’s life symbolize his fear of being nothing, his vulnerability and femininity, and his fear of being “sexually female” (177), so only through their death Rojack is given a second chance at masculinity. Fetterly points out the mystical power granted to women have a strong hold over Rojack and his actions and that An American Dream could not, and would not have occurred without the secret power of femininity and its threat to Rojack’s masculinity. --Aswieter (talk) 13:51, 1 October 2018 (UTC)


 * Wilander2244 (talk) 17:30, 13 September 2018 (UTC)Citing an array of credentialed literary critics, Gordon extensively explores Freudian, Jungian and other psychological depths of Stephen Rojack. Gordon assesses An American Dream largely as a mulit-layered war which Rojack doesn't recognize that he is actually having with himself: his fear of failure and of his own emasculation and castration, his latent homosexual impulses; his own inner "rot," or corruption. Rojack, says Gordon, outwardly battles conformity, struggles with own conflicted nature and tries to control the people and circumstances around him, failing to recognize that the ultimate obstacle he must face is in recognizing, acknowledging and controlling himself. Gordon views Dream less as a traditional narrative and more of a lurid dream-like orgy of sex and violence, in which Rojack's lusts, ambitions and barely-suppressed Oedipal impulses propel him on a cartoonish, hyper-masculine, swashbuckling escape - literally - from the confines of everyday reality. In its extremes, Gordon finds in Rojack's destructive swath elements of charm and disgust. Wilander2244 (talk) 16:05, 2 October 2018 (UTC)
 * In this text Gordon assesses Mailer’s fascination with dreams as the true representation of humankind’s deepest desires. He writes, “An American Dream is a phantasmagoria of the unconscious in which rationality is thrown out the window…” (Gordon 14).  Gordon proposes that Rojack is facing a deeper internal battle, a struggle to identify and reconcile with his masculine desires for violence and sex.AnnaVorisek (talk) 18:19, 10 February 2021 (UTC)


 * Stanley Edgar Hyman focuses on the writing style in Norman Mailer's An American Dream. Hyman first mentions that the book is full of mystiques. Some of these mystiques are telekinesis and precognition but one of the mystiques that Hyman thought to be the most peculiar is the spirit odors that each of the characters exude. In the book, Rojack smells "like the rotten carious shudder of a decayed tooth"(107). Deborah's smell a mix of "sweet rot, burning rubber, and a bank"(107). Mailer's use of these similes was something that Hyman thought to be something to bring attention to since they are Homeric,"Once a rainstorm I witnessed the creation of a rivulet", and concludes with: "That was how the tears went down Cherry's face"(107). Hyman finds that Mailers use of the similes and phrases as a way for Mailer to fulfill his longing to be a fancy writer such as Thomas Wolfe. MGray96 (talk) 16:45, 20 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Kaufmann reads AAD as, in Mailer's words, "in a funny way . . . a novel of manners" (202). These manners become a struggle between the institutionalized American Dream (195) and Rojack's internal and individual code (204). Kaufmann interprets AAD as a "singular nightmare" that reflects Rojack's relationship with the moon, or "magic, dread and perceptions of death as the center of motivation" (196; AAD 8). Rojack exists in his own dream world, and the narrative reflects this by juxtaposing "fantastic content with a realistic presentation" to illustrate the American ambiguity of the mass media: a lucidity verging on insanity (195) or where much is implied and little substantiated (201). Much of AAD remains implied, unsubstantiated, and inverted — like "what passes for paradise in America is really hell" (201, 200) — showing Rojack's relationships with white magic at the bottom (Cherry, Roberts, Deidre) and black that seems to have all the power (Kelly, Ganucci, Deborah) (199). AAD becomes a sort of medieval dream-allegory (199) where salvation remains an individual, inner condition where one survives only through "adherence to a code of relative manners" (204). —Grlucas (talk) 16:58, 15 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Conrad Knickerbocker begins his New York Times article by describing Mailer’s “An American Dream” as the product of a man unable to behave in the typical manner most authors during his time. Knickerbocker brings us into the mindset of Mailer during the years leading up to An American Dream’s unveiling in the depictions of a man “full of kinks” and bizarre, while simultaneously, “unfashionable” and impressive (1). Similar to Mailer, the protagonist of “An American Dream”, Stephen Rojack, was a public figure desperate for a new life (1) separate from the act put on for society, unescorted by his public personality independent of his true self. In order to accomplish this task, Rojack must be pushed pass the societally-accepted point of return, a place where he is so far removed from societal norms, he can finally begin to live (36). It is in this Esquire piece of work, focused on addressing a nation as a whole, that Mailer joined the rankings of a lessening variety. Knickerbocker brings his article to a close with the discussion amongst Mailer’s peers that claim Mailer can be trusted, because he is careless. The words of Malcolm Lowry, “only writers who count are the ones who burn”, and in the mind of Knickerbocker, “Mailer burns” (36). --Aswieter (talk) 15:04, 20 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Laist writes about how the 1950s were a decade of 'anguish' for Normam Mailer. He begins with mentioning that Mailer was having an identity crisis during the 1950s. Mailer's writing suffered as well during this identity crisis and was only fixed with the publishing of An American Dream. Abi sap (talk) 03:48, 11 February 2021 (UTC)


 * Torioneason Leeds puts in perspective the psyche of Rojack and his constant external battles and how they influenced his internal complications. Rojack's purge to do justice within his current society serves as a mental expunging for the wrong he has done that lies and weighs on his conscience every minute of the day. Rojack looks and searches for refuge in what he does away from himself and dives into as much as he can to elude his own thoughts that trouble him, yet his damnation seems to be inescapable. Torioneason (talk) 19:39, 3 October 2018 (UTC)


 * Maggie McKinley analyzed the relationship between masculinity and violence in Mailer’s fictions. Referring back to the 1950s and the 1960s, Mailer continues to state his views on the role of violence as a marker of both masculine power and individual freedom. In An American Dream, Steven Rojack was in a masculinity crisis throughout the novel that resulted in violence. His need to go as far as killing his own wife to free himself of his own demons that he then blamed on her proves how violence plays a role in Rojack's way of expressing his masculine power. One of his justification for his behavior is that she degrades him and make him feel less of a man. It also goes along with Rojack not taking responsibility for his actions, for instance, walking free from murdering his wife. He describes the feeling of her death as “like ghosts, emotions were passing invisibly through the aisles of my body.” (40). Even after her death, it still feels as if she had power over him as he contemplates on going back into the room where Deborah was to “kill her again”. He was still feeling her power overshadowing him or threatening his masculinity. McKinley states that Mailer uses violence as a “literary device that facilitates an analysis of his philosophies surrounding existential freedoms, social oppression, and gendered relationships.” Bridgetterobb (talk) 03:42, 18 September 2018 (UTC)


 * Maggie McKinley inquires about the fundamental element of violence and aggression in the social perception of masculinity. She compares Mailers An American Dream to Saul Bellows' novel, Herzog in its portrayal of violence as necessary to the masculine ideal. McKinley says that in AAD Stephen Rojack sees himself and his identity as inferior to his wife, Deborah, largely because of the fact that his successes come from Deborah's "social connections." Rojack sees Deborah as the epitome of society's oppression of him and therefore violently lashes out against Deborah as a way of freeing himself from society's clutches. According to McKinley, Rojack does not hate women, but rather he hates the "gendered anxiety" that he suffers as a result of "the perceived threat of feminine power." This conflict carries over to Rojack's relationship with Cherry, though this time he has a desire not just to hurt her, but also to rescue her. McKinley views this dichotomy as stemming from Rojack feeling both loved and threatened by Cherry. RLSenter (talk) 17:10, 20 September 2018 (UTC)


 * (talk) 15:41, 25 September 2018 (UTC) on page 339 Mailer indicates that one of the powers of the great bitch was emasculating him. For mailer looked at the "Great Bitch" in two ways real women and his novels. Both had ways of taking him to the peak of his confidence and to rock bottom as well. He puts Rojack on a "sexual Quest" which he says lies in the heart of every man. He argues that modern man chase the " apocalyptic orgasm but never reach it in stead seek validation through sex for life while never reaching the peak in which they strive for. Torioneason (talk) 17:45, 2 October 2018 (UTC)


 * Wilander2244 (talk) 14:12, 2 October 2018 (UTC)Millett holds both Mailer's protagonist Stephen Rojack and his creator to account for what she assesses to be the real-world consequences of their violent, toxic masculinity. In her analysis, not Mailer's mythologizing of the moon, nor battlefield flashbacks, nor purported elaborate metaphors, nor evocation of the supernatural, nor existentialist posturing deter Millet from cataloging Rojack's treatment of other human beings - particularly women and people of color - or her pointed juxtaposition of parallels to Mailer's own life. However its extremes are couched or cast, Millett finds An American Dream to be a primitive war cry of insecure and misogynistic men - a cynical exultation of sexual degradation and violence against women and minorities. Millett casts attempts to romanticize Stephen Rojack as a caricature or figure of fantasy aside - as she asserts Rojack does to the women in his life - and lambasts the character and Mailer as the murderous sexual assaulter their actions prove them to be. Neither man, Millett makes clear, deserves to be free from accountability for their crimes. Millett asserts that no protagonist of comparable literary stature is cheered and championed by his creator after literally getting away with murder. Wilander2244 (talk) 15:08, 2 October 2018 (UTC)


 * In An American Dream, Rojack is observed going through what Kate Millett, a feminist critic, calls sexistentialism. Justin Shaw calls attention to the fact that the motivations for Rojack's sexistentialist project and the practices of the capitialistic society that "underlies the American Dream" (46). To inform, Shaw makes important notes on traces of French existentialism in order to better understand Mailer which includes the three modes of being. Sartre's ontology includes three modes: being-in-itself, being-for-itself, and being-for-others (47). Deborah was depicted as dominant figure over Rojack and is seen to make Rojack the "powerless" victim when she mocks him. After Deborah's death, Rojack sets out to seek further in himself his gender role of masculinity through the actions of his own decisions (50). His wife's recognition of himself was linked to his masculinity which left him "a void where his sense of masculinity resided" when she tells him that she no longer loves him (51). After he murders Deborah, he immediately seeks out to fill the void as being the subject in his sexistential project. It is said by Anthony Giddens that "in order to avoid existential dread . . . a sense of ontological security in relation to the greater society" is required (54). Traditionally, American culture has expectations which expect men to be "independent, active, and always in control" (54). Kelly, Rojack's father-in-law, represents this "self-made mode of masculinity" and is the reason why Rojack struggles with remaining in the "subject position" (56). Sarahqbentley (talk) 03:26, 2 October 2018 (UTC)


 * Tanner begins his review by noting that a reader of An American Dream must not interpret it merely as a telling of events because of its supernatural tendencies. He also touches on Rojack's struggle between the American Dream and a darker dream filled with sexual pleasure and violence, activated by Rojack's encounters with the moon. He points to the part of An American Dream where Stephen Rojack delights in killing Germans under the moonlit sky in World War II and also when the moon calls to Rojack while he's standing on the parapet. Tanner also points out Mailer's use of "pre-social reality" settings such as the Yucatan jungle, the swamp, and the desert as metaphors for Rojack's newly primal nature. In this vein, Tanner notices that Mailer often uses "animal terms" to describe the characters and he focuses on the sense of smell to further his primal theme. RLSenter (talk) 16:33, 13 September 2018 (UTC)


 * John Whalen-Bridge examines Norman Mailer's An American Dream and Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita", two novels that contain murderous taboo. Even though the death of Quity is seen to be by far more grotesque than the murder of Deborah, Mailer received far more criticism for his depiction of violence towards women, while Nabokov's name is not even brought up by the same critics (84). With this, Whalen-Bridge asks the question, why are some fictional characters able to get away with the "murderous desire" while others cannot so easily (75)? He defines the murderous desire presented in novels as the desire to kill with making the killing seem more acceptable; this is where the "murderer's gambit" comes into play (77). Another way to minimize the resistance of the reader, is to contextualize the transgression. In an example, when Rojack murders his wife he compares it to the killing of the Germans. The juxtaposition makes the reader wonder what is the difference between killing a person in wartime and killing a person in society (79). Not only the title of the novel suggests the novel is "framed" as a kind of dream but also when the allusion to F. Scott Fitzgerald's story "A Diamond as Big as the Ritz" is mentioned (80). Sarahqbentley (talk) 14:50, 18 September 2018 (UTC)


 * This article goes in depth about how this novel was taken by the public and critiques alike when it was first published. It was deemed as ugly, dirty, and very controversial for the time it was published. With the novel dealing with controversial topics such as sex, murder, and violence, some even called it a failed work of naturalism or as a violent allegory of social ills in America during the 60s.Jennifero2000 (talk) 20:49,11 February 2021 (UTC)

In this article, the author argues that there is no love in Norman Mailer's novel. Love is oftentimes referred to as cancer. It is rather toxic. Before long it becomes death. The author suggests that love is like death and it is very powerful.Anawimpy98 (talk)

Kaufmann's article discusses Mailer's use of violent masculinity within the novel An American Dream. Kaufmann emphasizes how Mailer's use of gender brutality is controversial. Interestingly, the article defines Mailer's novel as a "Modern myth" due to the philosophies of masculinity and violence. Kaufmann also states that An American Dream is an ethical nature of violence. haley.carter1 (User talk:haley.carter1)

Scott’s article explores common themes and interpretations of Mailer’s main character, Rojack.RyanArian (User talk:RyanArian)

Trilling presents a canvass to which details among Mailer's works intersect one another in reagards to moral ambiguity. She also provides insight to how Mailer uses restricted, enclosed areas that allow his character's unethical moral questioning to shine. Sean.Robi733 (talk)