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Moving to the beginning of Mailer’s career, it is obvious that every character in ''The Naked and the Dead'' (1948) is issued regulation small arms: the | Moving to the beginning of Mailer’s career, it is obvious that every character in ''The Naked and the Dead'' (1948) is issued regulation small arms: the | ||
officers with caliber .45 ACP Model 1911A1 pistols, the enlisted men with 30-06 M1 Garand rifles (as distinguished from Rojack’s smaller M1 carbine) or .45 Thompson submachine guns. Perhaps the most crucial episode in which one of these weapons figures is late in the book, during the abortive attempt by I & R platoon to climb Mt. Anaka, when Red Valsen rebels against Staff Sgt. Croft’s leadership and is forced to obey at gunpoint: “Croft . . . unslung his rifle, cocked the bolt leisurely. . . . It was worthless to temporize. Croft wanted to shoot him” ( | officers with caliber .45 ACP Model 1911A1 pistols, the enlisted men with 30-06 M1 Garand rifles (as distinguished from Rojack’s smaller M1 carbine) or .45 Thompson submachine guns. Perhaps the most crucial episode in which one of these weapons figures is late in the book, during the abortive attempt by I & R platoon to climb Mt. Anaka, when Red Valsen rebels against Staff Sgt. Croft’s leadership and is forced to obey at gunpoint: “Croft . . . unslung his rifle, cocked the bolt leisurely. . . . It was worthless to temporize. Croft wanted to shoot him” (695-6).When Red capitulates, it signals the end of all resistance to Croft, which is emblematic of the allegorical conclusion by Mailer that reactionaries would dominate post-war America and which emphasizes the novel’s pessimistic message, its naturalistic bias | ||
If war is the most obvious arena in which guns figure, it is not hard to | If war is the most obvious arena in which guns figure, it is not hard to | ||
find the others: hunting and, in urban civilian life, criminal pursuits. The | find the others: hunting and, in urban civilian life, criminal pursuits. The | ||
most striking of the latter occurs in Hemingway’s great story, “The Killers,” | most striking of the latter occurs in Hemingway’s great story, “The Killers,” | ||
and Mailer’s | and Mailer’s 1984 murder mystery, ''Tough Guys Don’t Dance''. In the former, | ||
the two hit men, almost robotic in their mindless, inexorable commitment | the two hit men, almost robotic in their mindless, inexorable commitment | ||
to a job that must be done, pursue their prey, ex-boxer Ole Anderson, with | to a job that must be done, pursue their prey, ex-boxer Ole Anderson, with | ||
a chilling, leisurely assurance and sawed-off | a chilling, leisurely assurance and sawed-off 12 gauge shotguns. In the first | ||
cinematic version of the story ( | cinematic version of the story (1946), a classic ''film noir'' with Burt Lancaster | ||
and Ava Gardner in their first starring roles, the killers (one of whom is | and Ava Gardner in their first starring roles, the killers (one of whom is | ||
William Conrad, later of TV“Cannon” fame) use more pedestrian Smith & | William Conrad, later of TV“Cannon” fame) use more pedestrian Smith & | ||
Wesson Model | Wesson Model 10 .38 Special revolvers. As in Hemingway’s story, Ole Anderson, in true naturalistic fashion, passively awaits his death. | ||
In Tough Guys Don’t Dance, several of the seven violent deaths are carried | In ''Tough Guys Don’t Dance'', several of the seven violent deaths are carried | ||
out by the three matching . automatic pistols bought by Meeks Wardley | out by the three matching . automatic pistols bought by Meeks Wardley | ||
Hilby III, including his own suicide and that of his doppelgänger Lonnie | Hilby III, including his own suicide and that of his doppelgänger Lonnie | ||