User:Erhernandez/sandbox: Difference between revisions

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revenge on Rojack. Therefore he stimulates the protagonist to attempt his perilous

walk. Before Rojack mounts the parapet, Kelly says: “You’d better give me your umbrella”.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=256}} When Rojack has almost finished his vertiginous task, Kelly steps forward and uses the umbrella as a weapon with which he tries to push Rojack over the edge. “You’re not bad Stephen,” he said, “it’s just. . . I don’t know that I want you to get away with it,” and he lifted the tip of the umbrella to my ribs and gave a push to poke me off.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=260}} Rojack reacts with the speed of lightning, seizes the umbrella and strikes Kelly across the face before leaving him behind defeated. Notwithstanding the fact that the outcome of the conflict holds the defeat of Rojack’s enemy, the walk on the parapet is much more than a conflict between the two men. When the focus is on the parallels with the philosophical doctrine outlined in “White Negro,” it has to be

observed that the confrontation represents the struggle between the Hipster

features of courage and cowardice and is therefore located in the psyche of the

protagonist. This internal battle is most apparent in the moments before and

during the walk on the parapet, which is reminiscent of Rojack’s suicide attempt

at a party at the beginning of the novel. The parallels between the two attempts to walk round the parapet illustrate the “Hip notion” that present

actions lessen the tension of past trauma.

Because Rojack has finally finished the final league of his journey, he is

able to cast aside his cowardice and walk the parapet. In order to gain resolve,

Rojack must control the tearing dichotomy in his own head. When Rojack first mounts the parapet, he is terribly frightened by his hazardous task, which is made even more difficult by wind and rain. At first he is inclined to give up, but Rojack quickly recovers: “And then I felt some hard contemptuous disgust of my fear”.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=257}} Nevertheless the fact that he decides to confront his fear, the hero-protagonist still feels the urge “to leave the balcony and fly.” The little voice inside his head cautions him: “You murdered. So you are in [Deborah’s] cage. Now, earn your release. Go around the parapet again”.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=259}} When Rojack is forced to step off the parapet by Barney Kelly’s attack with Shago’s umbrella, the little voice warns him that “It’s not enough. It goes for nothing if you don’t do it twice.”{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=260}} Rojack is determined however, that he finished his final ordeal and responds: “I’ve lain with madness long enough,” and he walks away, turning his back to the corrupt American upper class.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=260}}

In the act of “swinging” represented in this confrontation, Rojack is able to

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

===Citations===

@@ Line 235: / Line 235: @@
 {{pg|358|359}}
+revenge on Rojack. Therefore he stimulates the protagonist to attempt his perilous
+walk. Before Rojack mounts the parapet, Kelly says: “You’d better give me your umbrella”.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=256}} When Rojack has almost finished his vertiginous task, Kelly steps forward and uses the umbrella as a weapon with which he tries to push Rojack over the edge. “You’re not bad Stephen,” he said, “it’s just. . . I don’t know that I want you to get away with it,” and he lifted the tip of the umbrella to my ribs and gave a push to poke me off.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=260}} Rojack reacts with the speed of lightning, seizes the umbrella and strikes Kelly across the face before leaving him behind defeated. Notwithstanding the fact that the outcome of the conflict holds the defeat of Rojack’s enemy, the walk on the parapet is much more than a conflict between the two men. When the focus is on the parallels with the philosophical doctrine outlined in “White Negro,” it has to be
+observed that the confrontation represents the struggle between the Hipster
+features of courage and cowardice and is therefore located in the psyche of the
+protagonist. This internal battle is most apparent in the moments before and
+during the walk on the parapet, which is reminiscent of Rojack’s suicide attempt
+at a party at the beginning of the novel. The parallels between the two attempts to walk round the parapet illustrate the “Hip notion” that present
+actions lessen the tension of past trauma.
+Because Rojack has finally finished the final league of his journey, he is
+able to cast aside his cowardice and walk the parapet. In order to gain resolve,
+Rojack must control the tearing dichotomy in his own head. When Rojack first mounts the parapet, he is terribly frightened by his hazardous task, which is made even more difficult by wind and rain. At first he is inclined to give up, but Rojack quickly recovers: “And then I felt some hard contemptuous disgust of my fear”.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=257}} Nevertheless the fact that he decides to confront his fear, the hero-protagonist still feels the urge “to leave the balcony and fly.” The little voice inside his head cautions him: “You murdered. So you are in [Deborah’s] cage. Now, earn your release. Go around the parapet again”.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=259}} When Rojack is forced to step off the parapet by Barney Kelly’s attack with Shago’s umbrella, the little voice warns him that “It’s not enough. It goes for nothing if you don’t do it twice.”{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=260}} Rojack is determined however, that he finished his final ordeal and responds: “I’ve lain with madness long enough,” and he walks away, turning his back to the corrupt American upper class.{{sfn|Mailer|1965|p=260}}
+In the act of “swinging” represented in this confrontation, Rojack is able to
+take over the powers and qualities of his adversary. However, in contrast with
+{{pg|359|360}}
 ===Citations===