User:Erhernandez/sandbox: Difference between revisions

Line 251:

take over the powers and qualities of his adversary. However, in contrast with

the desired qualities of streetwise wit, cool and power represented by Romeo, Roberts and Shago, Kelly’s determining characteristics are of a different, less

desirable kind. The main reason for Barney Kelly’s success is his pact with the

devil, which invested him with a magical kind of intelligence, a “[w]ondrous

sort of power,” enabling him to be visionary and therefore extremely successful

in business.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=244}} Rojack is frightened by the immense power of Barney Kelly’s devilish intelligence, which briefly seems to pass over to him.“[A] gout of the stench which comes from devotion to the goat came up from him and

went over to me”.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=253}} This fills Rojack with an immense and crippling fear:

<blockquote>For I wanted to escape from that intelligence which let me know of murders in one direction and conceive of visits to Cherry from the other, I wanted to be free of magic, the tongue of the Devil, the dread of the Lord, I wanted to be some sort of rational man again, nailed tight to details, promiscuous, reasonable, blind to the reach of the seas.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=255}}</blockquote>

By taking the walk round the parapet, defeating Kelly and his own cowardice, Rojack casts away the temptation of real evil, opening up the possibilities for a new, rational and even happy life with Cherry.

On the level of myth and the battle between good and evil, this final conflict shows that Rojack equally uses good and evil in order to reach a state of higher personal awareness. Rojack has learned to master the Hipster skill of “swinging,” but in this final confrontation he consciously opts not to “swing” and, as a result, chooses not to continue to nurture the evil side of his personality. Rather than being tempted by the allure of immense power equal to that of Kelly or even the Devil, the hero-protagonist resolutely chooses for good, for Cherry and for love, determined to reach his personal salvation. The Hip morality as presented by Mailer in “White Negro” provides a set of rules that Rojack must follow and absorb if he wants to break with his previous, depressing high society life. Rojack hopes to start life anew, reaching a higher level of existence.

=====REACHING SALVATION=====

The fourth and final characteristic of Slotkin’s definition of the heroic quest

is “the initiation into a higher level of existence.” For Rojack, this means that

he reached the end of his ordeals and acquired personal salvation. At last,

===Citations===

@@ Line 251: / Line 251: @@
 take over the powers and qualities of his adversary. However, in contrast with
 {{pg|359|360}}
+the desired qualities of streetwise wit, cool and power represented by Romeo, Roberts and Shago, Kelly’s determining characteristics are of a different, less
+desirable kind. The main reason for Barney Kelly’s success is his pact with the
+devil, which invested him with a magical kind of intelligence, a “[w]ondrous
+sort of power,” enabling him to be visionary and therefore extremely successful
+in business.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=244}} Rojack is frightened by the immense power of Barney Kelly’s devilish intelligence, which briefly seems to pass over to him.“[A] gout of the stench which comes from devotion to the goat came up from him and
+went over to me”.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=253}} This fills Rojack with an immense and crippling fear:
+<blockquote>For I wanted to escape from that intelligence which let me know of murders in one direction and conceive of visits to Cherry from the other, I wanted to be free of magic, the tongue of the Devil, the dread of the Lord, I wanted to be some sort of rational man again, nailed tight to details, promiscuous, reasonable, blind to the reach of the seas.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=255}}</blockquote>
+By taking the walk round the parapet, defeating Kelly and his own cowardice, Rojack casts away the temptation of real evil, opening up the possibilities for a new, rational and even happy life with Cherry.
+On the level of myth and the battle between good and evil, this final conflict shows that Rojack equally uses good and evil in order to reach a state of higher personal awareness. Rojack has learned to master the Hipster skill of “swinging,” but in this final confrontation he consciously opts not to “swing” and, as a result, chooses not to continue to nurture the evil side of his personality. Rather than being tempted by the allure of immense power equal to that of Kelly or even the Devil, the hero-protagonist resolutely chooses for good, for Cherry and for love, determined to reach his personal salvation. The Hip morality as presented by Mailer in “White Negro” provides a set of rules that Rojack must follow and absorb if he wants to break with his previous, depressing high society life. Rojack hopes to start life anew, reaching a higher level of existence.
+=====REACHING SALVATION=====
+The fourth and final characteristic of Slotkin’s definition of the heroic quest
+is “the initiation into a higher level of existence.” For Rojack, this means that
+he reached the end of his ordeals and acquired personal salvation. At last,
+{{pg|360|361}}
 ===Citations===