The Mailer Review/Volume 5, 2011/Norman Mailer's Mythmaking in An American Dream and “The White Negro”: Difference between revisions
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=====THE MYTHOGENESIS OF MAILER===== | =====THE MYTHOGENESIS OF MAILER===== | ||
According to Slotkin, mythology is a key for understanding a nation’s identity, since “a mythology is a complex of narratives that dramatizes the world visions and historical sense of a people or culture, reducing centuries of experience into a constellation of compelling metaphors.” It is important to note that the narrative of a myth is not perpetual, but has to be reactive to the changes in an inherently dynamic society. If a mythological narrative strives to sustain its functionality, the myth must address these alterations in society. At the same time, the response of people living in that particular society to that particular myth is equally essential to the viability of a myth, because “a people unaware of myths is likely to continue living by them, though the world around that people may change and demand changes in their psychology, their world view, their ethics, and their institutions”.{{sfn|Slotkin| | According to Slotkin, mythology is a key for understanding a nation’s identity, since “a mythology is a complex of narratives that dramatizes the world visions and historical sense of a people or culture, reducing centuries of experience into a constellation of compelling metaphors.” It is important to note that the narrative of a myth is not perpetual, but has to be reactive to the changes in an inherently dynamic society. If a mythological narrative strives to sustain its functionality, the myth must address these alterations in society. At the same time, the response of people living in that particular society to that particular myth is equally essential to the viability of a myth, because “a people unaware of myths is likely to continue living by them, though the world around that people may change and demand changes in their psychology, their world view, their ethics, and their institutions”.{{sfn|Slotkin|1973|p=4-5}} | ||
This triple dynamic between the mythology itself, the myth-maker, and the myth-maker’s audience shapes the precarious task of the literary mythmaker as the seismograph of a society: | This triple dynamic between the mythology itself, the myth-maker, and the myth-maker’s audience shapes the precarious task of the literary mythmaker as the seismograph of a society: | ||
<blockquote>On the basis of limited, finite experience, he (the myth-maker) creates a hypothetical vision of a universal, infinite order and imposes that hypothesis on his perception of the phenomena of nature and his own behavior. He tests his vision by acting in accordance with the principles of behavior that seem to be demanded | <blockquote>On the basis of limited, finite experience, he (the myth-maker) creates a hypothetical vision of a universal, infinite order and imposes that hypothesis on his perception of the phenomena of nature and his own behavior. He tests his vision by acting in accordance with the principles of behavior that seem to be demanded | ||
by reality as he envisions it.{{sfn|Slotkin| | by reality as he envisions it.{{sfn|Slotkin|1973|p=7}}</blockquote> | ||
In constructing his own myth, the writer is able to ventilate his own idiosyncratic | In constructing his own myth, the writer is able to ventilate his own idiosyncratic | ||
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{{pg|361|362}} | {{pg|361|362}} | ||
in a society dominated by that particular myth. Subsequently, a myth is much more than ''only'' a narrative, but can be considered to be “a source of power.” This power is derived from the fact that a myth shows its readers “how to appropriate and control the forces that order the world”.{{sfn|Slotkin| | in a society dominated by that particular myth. Subsequently, a myth is much more than ''only'' a narrative, but can be considered to be “a source of power.” This power is derived from the fact that a myth shows its readers “how to appropriate and control the forces that order the world”.{{sfn|Slotkin|1973|p=7}} In this view, myths offer a guide to success. | ||
In what Slotkin calls the primary stage of myth, the “mythopoeic state of consciousness” predominates. This means that both mythmaker and audience are very susceptible to a new myth. In this stage a certain fixity of form takes hold in society. | In what Slotkin calls the primary stage of myth, the “mythopoeic state of consciousness” predominates. This means that both mythmaker and audience are very susceptible to a new myth. In this stage a certain fixity of form takes hold in society. | ||
In the secondary or romantic stage of myth, the emphasis is on “the fulfilment of the obligations established for the myth”.{{sfn|Slotkin| | In the secondary or romantic stage of myth, the emphasis is on “the fulfilment of the obligations established for the myth”.{{sfn|Slotkin|1973|p=13}} This means that the people became aware of the specific set of rules outlined by the myth-artist, and try to live life accordingly. | ||
The third and final stage is called the consumatory stage of myth. In this stage, the major thinkers in society become aware of the corruption that flowed from the romantic stage. The original faiths and values that were constructed in the primary stage were perverted to such an extent that the myth is no longer supportive to the nation and the nation’s people. The mythmaking artist is the first to become aware of this degeneration. He is blessed with a strong sense of critical awareness and senses the need for a new myth. “In a conscious attempt to recapture the lost innocence of the mythopoeic attitude, [he] tries to assume the role of a prophet in society.” As a visionary, he reaches out to people and tries to make them susceptible to his new vision. The artist’s prophecy is based on his new hypothetical “construction of symbols and values, derived from real and imaginary experience and ordered by the imagination according to the deepest needs of the psyche”.{{sfn|Slotkin| | The third and final stage is called the consumatory stage of myth. In this stage, the major thinkers in society become aware of the corruption that flowed from the romantic stage. The original faiths and values that were constructed in the primary stage were perverted to such an extent that the myth is no longer supportive to the nation and the nation’s people. The mythmaking artist is the first to become aware of this degeneration. He is blessed with a strong sense of critical awareness and senses the need for a new myth. “In a conscious attempt to recapture the lost innocence of the mythopoeic attitude, [he] tries to assume the role of a prophet in society.” As a visionary, he reaches out to people and tries to make them susceptible to his new vision. The artist’s prophecy is based on his new hypothetical “construction of symbols and values, derived from real and imaginary experience and ordered by the imagination according to the deepest needs of the psyche”.{{sfn|Slotkin|1973|p=13}} Mailer’s work on the “American identity” is situated in this final stage of the development of American mythology, not only because of the apparent reaction to a degenerated myth frozen in the romantic stage, but also because of the prophecy of a new, consumatory myth. | ||
The myth Mailer is concerned with is one of the strongest surviving myths in American society: the American Dream. According to Slotkin, the American Dream equals “the conception of America as a wide-open land of unlimited opportunity for the strong, ambitious, self-reliant individual to thrust his way to the top”.{{sfn|Slotkin| | The myth Mailer is concerned with is one of the strongest surviving myths in American society: the American Dream. According to Slotkin, the American Dream equals “the conception of America as a wide-open land of unlimited opportunity for the strong, ambitious, self-reliant individual to thrust his way to the top”.{{sfn|Slotkin|1973|p=5}} In this view, anyone can climb the ladder of success by hard work and just a bit of luck. However, the reality of everyday life often contradicts this perpetual ''idee-fixe''—and wealth is often accom- | ||
{{pg|362|363}} | {{pg|362|363}} | ||