User talk:Sarahqbentley/sandbox


 * Sarahqbentley (talk) 17:58, 30 August 2018 (UTC)

FOOTNOTE TEMPLATE:

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The Jekyll and Hyde:

The chapter begins with Grimsted listing two books that was thought to contribute to the conflicts regarding popular culture, the center of American life. The present day morality and values were being evaluated similarly to that of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scenario. Brookman, author of American Culture and Society Since the 1930s, included many works in his bibliography, one of them being of Norman Mailer's The White Negro. He argued the opposite of an American society being free of conflict. It was said to be empty in nature as a totalitarian nation. Followers concluded that this may eventually lead to Nietzschean's "apocalyptic vision", but enthusiasm gave way to writers like Mailer to find solutions "in the better orgasm" which would allow for rise of "full instinctual potential". Sarahqbentley (talk) 13:14, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

Other:

In the beginning of his entry, he noted that critics either dismissed contemporary work in literature, or it was sometimes "documented" to see what the thoughts of society were like during a certain time period. People look to religion to grant elements of love and freedom, but the search ends in matters such as crime or "the burden of the hipster". in Literature was taking a new turn with it's use of style and literary devices to build up on those thoughts based on experiences. By providing evidence in various novels and works, Hassan talks about 10 instances of what he imagines to be the face of a hero. The 7th instance talked about Norman Mailer's character, a soldier, from Naked and the Dead who was under that a victim of military orders. He illustrated a hipster's face as his last face, and he remarks how there are some present day heroes wearing a twisted mask. This twisted mask is due to the "grimace" that is always being worn due to their various encounters and experiences. He tells us the essay "The White Negro" in his eyes topped The Naked in the Dead in regards to the makings of literary heroes. He continues on to say how the literary device of irony which is used to put out in the text what morality and ethics really are.Sarahqbentley (talk) 13:14, 4 September 2018 (UTC)

--Rework to add: Sep. 12,

1. As popular culture is the center of American life, morality and values were being evaluated similarly to that of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scenario. Christopher Brookman, author of American Culture and Society Since the 1930s, included The White Negro. He argued the opposite of an American society being free of conflict. It was said to be empty in nature as a totalitarian nation. Followers concluded that this may eventually lead to Nietzschean's "apocalyptic vision", but enthusiasm gave way to writers like Mailer to find solutions "in the better orgasm" which would allow for rise of "full instinctual potential".

(1. Revised) Though Christopher Brookeman created a sort of motivation for Mailer through his idea of marxism combined with "Reichian Freudianism" to find solutions "in the better orgasm" which would allow for the rise of one's "full instinctual potential".

2. The hipster's face was used as an illustration by Ihab Hassan as the face of an "alienated" hero which was usually covered by a twisted mask in order to hide the look of disgust towards one's own experiences and encounters. These are the kicks that the "rebel-victim" of our time experiences for themselves.

An American Dream Additions

 * 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 Debra, 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).



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 existential 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).

topic:

Why Are We In Vietnam?

 * Sarahqbentley (talk) 02:14, 16 October 2018 (UTC)

Notes on Myth & Animism:

In the western world, people do not think of animism to be rational in any way; it is often thought as "superstitious" (298). Because of this, Mailer masks his intentions behind "distracting elements": "obscene and scientific language". The narrative of D.J. is played back through a "psychic tape recorder" which can retain a lot of information. Mailer explains the recorder's function by simplifying it to make it easier to understand through the use of scientific terms. Jean Piaget believed that "we all retain remnants of animistic belief from childhood" such as magic or the supernatural; this is what makes Why Are We in Vietnam able to work alongside the "mythic themes". The supernatural runs parallel to the events in the novel, and Mailer simultaneously provides the "technological explanations" so they are not entirely deemed as irrational (301). The world is set up with "antipodal relationships". One can see this in the instance of D.J. explaining that "the real author of his autobiographical . . . may be a black man in Harlem". This juxtaposition shows the opposing relationship is still connected though they are "dissimilar" (301). The hunting grounds in the novel take place in Alaska where one of the "central receivers" are located (302). As Tex and D.J. leave behind their equipment or their traces of "civilization and technology", they go through a "purification ceremony" in which they acquire a form of "psychic awareness". They are now able to sense nearby wildlife and the wildlife also become aware of the two boys (300). One evening, D.J. and Text fall victim to the corruption of the "charged atmosphere" between the Northern Lights and the "psychic smog"; dread was found within it or the "fear [of] being killed by his fellow man". This ultimately turns them into the "soldiers who look forward" to the horrific scenes of war.

Wiki Edits:

Mailer masks his true intentions behind two "distracting elements": "obscene and scientific language". The narrative of D.J. is played back through a "psychic tape recorder" which can retain a lot of information. Mailer explains the recorder's function by simplifying it to make it easier to understand through the use of scientific terms. D.J. explains that "the real author of his autobiographical . . . may be a black man in Harlem"; they are still connected even though they are "dissimilar".

Notes on A Disturbance of the Peace:

In Boyard's review, he states Mailer's Why Are We in Vietnam? to be just as "fashionable" as the writing one were to find on the wall of an "underpass". The article's name inherently is used to describe the book just as Boyard also applies it to Mailer's last novel An American Dream. He observes that "in 208" pages he could not directly quote from it as it was inappropriate for a family newspaper. One could summarize the novel as being "a sexual obstacle course in the basic training camp of contemporary life." Sex used to be meaningful, and since censorship has been lifted, it is often placed in areas that have zero context. Recently, the "sexual hero" has been brought forth in American literature: an insignificant hero. DJ's speech and thoughts are described as both a "hippie teen-ager" and a "middle-aged avant-garde writer". His thoughts are filled with "portmanteau puns" in one moment, and in the next moment "he slips . . . into Negro dialect". As Boyard explains how the novel is divided into "Intro Beeps" and "Chaps", he admits that the offensive and obscene writing Mailer presents "usually has a message wrapped around it". He concludes his article by stating that Mailer's novel as being a "third-rate work of art" but a "first-rate outrage to our sensibilities".

Wiki Edits:

In Boyard's review, he uses his article's name A Disturbance of the Peace to describe WWVN. The novel could also be seen as "a sexual obstacle course in the basic training camp of contemporary life." D.J., a sexual hero or an insignificant hero, is found to be random in his speech. His thoughts are filled with "portmanteau puns" in one moment, and in the next moment "he slips . . . into Negro dialect". Boyard concludes his article by stating that Mailer's novel as being a "third-rate work of art" but a "first-rate outrage to our sensibilities".

The Armies of the Night


Receiving praise from Alfred Kazin in the New York Times, The Armies of the Night was thought to be an “appropriate and timely contribution” to “the great stage that is American democracy” because it was “written. . . so intelligent, mischievous, penetrating and alive”. It has become the historical piece to reveal America's deepest personal and political concerns at the center of a "developing crisis".