The Theory Of Norman Mailer Historical Consciousness Of The Naked And The Dead

Norman Mailer (1923-2007), the legendary American novelist, is a part of thatgeneration of ambitious writers who came of age in the postwar era. As a fiction comparedto Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace（1863）, The Naked and the Dead (1948) is one of the mostsignificant novels from World WarⅡ and catapults Mailer to literary fame. As thespokesman-artist of wartime America, Mailer has been always active in the conscientiousrepresentation of the social life tangled with various power relations. Considering Mailer’sstrong historical consciousness, this thesis attempts to explore the novel from theperspectives of New Historicism and Foucaultian power theory.The thesis is composed of five parts. The first chapter gives an introduction toNorman Mailer, his literary career with the focus on The Naked and the Dead, followingwhich comes the introduction to New Historicism and Foucault’s micro-power theory.In the second chapter, the thesis concentrates on the social issue of totalitarianism. Asa reflection of totalitarianism lurking American society, two representative charactersGeneral Cummings and Sergeant Croft are selected to display strong totalitarian tendencyfrom the aspect of their peculiar attitude to violence and power. Based on the Foucaultianpower theory concerning panopticon, this chapter unveils the mechanism behind thetotalitarian power relationship through the outer environment as well as the systemizationof army. Then, the thesis reveals Mailer’s support for the oppressed groups who displayssparkling humanistic merits all over the novel, and foresees the outbreak of serioustotalitarianism in the post-war America. The next chapter gives a close examination ofanother social issue—sexism through the analysis of marital relation in the novel. As aminiature of severe sexism in American society, Mailer’s novel displays sexualdiscrimination against women, ranging from illiterate soldiers William Brown towell-educated officers General Cummings. Then emphasis is placed on how men constructa prison where male characters including Wilson and Croft define women, and dominatediscourse over their wives. Moreover characters like Cummings seek to lock his wife Margaret into an isolated community. Finally, Mailer warns that women like Alice will riseto struggle against marital inequality, and proposes an ideal mode of couple relationshipbased on love and understanding, which is represented by his descriptions of anothercouple Gallagher and Mary. The following chapter deals with the racial discriminationtowards American minorities including Japanese, American Mexican, and Jews during thewar. Then with the theory of discipline and punishment from Foucault and Said’spost-colonial criticism, the thesis seeks to reveal the minorities are controlled in the socialsystem from two layers--self-discipline and outer restriction. Based on the analysis ofpower control, Mailer intends to wake up those self-disciplinary minorities such asGoldstein, and ambitiously advise to establish a society with harmonious racialrelationships.In all, The Naked and the Dead is the most complex in design and the most ambitiousin what it aims to say, not about the war but about American society as seen through theinstitutions of war. It offers readers a critical view to penetrate into the facts of politics,gender and race in American society.