Dimensions of Violence in the Works of Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer is one of the major writers on the American scene and his works have aroused a great deal of interest and controversy. Progressing from the war novel, The Naked and the Dead (1948) through his non-fictional work, The Armies of the Night (1968) to the award winning book, The Executioner’s Song (1979) and his mystery novel, Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1984), mailer emerges as a writer who has his finger on the pulse of American consciousness. The book entails the study of mailer with special reference to the element of violence found in his works. Many aspects of Mailer’s works, such as, his innovative narrative technique, his themes, his radical moralism, and his biographical features have been worked upon. However, a detailed study of violence which connects Mailer’s different worlds-whether of politics or of the individual-has not been taken up. Violence in all its manifestations, whether physical or psychological, is seen to pervade all his writings. This book analyses the deteriorating moral condition of America, and the causes that have brought about a strengthening of the establishment, loss of individuality and esteem of the common man; leading to other internal disorders like neurosis, frustration, loneliness and sexual aberrations, which often find outlet in sadistic violence. Further, it also helps us to understand the need of the Mailerian hero to adhere to his own set of rules and code of conduct, which are shaped through experience; and in the middle of so much chaos, violence and irregularities, the Mailerian concept of courage and survival proves to be effective.