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==I. Introduction==
==I. Introduction==
Norman Mailer was one of the most ambitious writers of our time. He had enormous faith in the power of writing to influence and change society and to alter the quality of human life. Despite the controversies that swirled around his public figure, he should be more recognized for the scope of his efforts to use his writing to transform America. With bravado, courage, and a bit of recklessness, he has repeatedly proclaimed his ''personal'' ambition to place himself, as a writer, in the company of literary giants and thereby remedy what he believes are America’s literary deficiencies, while also promising that he is about to write a novel that will create the “revolution in consciousness” (''Advertisements 17'') which he believes is necessary to rejuvenate a stagnant America,{{efn|1. See again ''Advertisements'' as well as essays in ''Cannibals and Christians'' and Norman Mailer, ''Pieces and Pontifications'' (Boston: Little Brown, 1982). This point recurs throughout his
Norman Mailer was one of the most ambitious writers of our time. He had enormous faith in the power of writing to influence and change society and to alter the quality of human life. Despite the controversies that swirled around his public figure, he should be more recognized for the scope of his efforts to use his writing to transform America. With bravado, courage, and a bit of recklessness, he has repeatedly proclaimed his ''personal'' ambition to place himself, as a writer, in the company of literary giants and thereby remedy what he believes are America’s literary deficiencies, while also promising that he is about to write a novel that will create the “revolution in consciousness” (''Advertisements 17'') which he believes is necessary to rejuvenate a stagnant America,{{efn|1. See again ''Advertisements'' as well as essays in ''Cannibals and Christians'' and Norman Mailer, ''Pieces and Pontifications'' (Boston: Little Brown, 1982). This point recurs throughout his
writing.}} through writing the “great American novel” which will “tell the truth of our times.” Undoubtedly, however, this effort has been fraught with difficulties; as Carl Rollyson explains in his biography of Mailer: “In the forty years since The Naked and the Dead Mailer has been searching for a way to write the great panoramic American novel.... America had seemed too complex for any single novelist—no matter how mature—to take on (359).” His last, sustained effort to reveal America through a work of fiction is the long historical novel about the CIA, ''Harlot’s Ghost''. However, this novel has been overlooked as the culmination of Mailer’s project of a fictional representation of America and therefore largely ignored as the important work of politically engaged fiction that I believe it is.2 This is undoubtedly because the novel presents a strange puzzle; both its content and form need careful consideration before its significance can be understand.
writing.}} through writing the “great American novel” which will “tell the truth of our times.” Undoubtedly, however, this effort has been fraught with difficulties; as Carl Rollyson explains in his biography of Mailer: “In the forty years since The Naked and the Dead Mailer has been searching for a way to write the great panoramic American novel.... America had seemed too complex for any single novelist—no matter how mature—to take on (359).” His last, sustained effort to reveal America through a work of fiction is the long historical novel about the CIA, ''Harlot’s Ghost''. However, this novel has been overlooked as the culmination of Mailer’s project of a fictional representation of America and therefore largely ignored as the important work of politically engaged fiction that I believe it is.{{efn|2. One of the many critics who argue this way is Heather Nielson (pp. 23–41), who sums up her conclusion about Mailer’s politics based on ''Harlot’s Ghost'' and ''Oswald’s Tale'' by stating, “What an examination of the persistent presence of Kennedy in their writings tends to suggest is that, for all Mailer’s non-conformism, his oeuvre serves to ultimately uphold the defining myths of the society which he describes, while that of Vidal works to undermine them” (23). While her analysis of the episodes featuring Kennedy in Mailer’s work and Vidal’s is persuasive in showing that Mailer’s writings on Kennedy are more positive than Vidal’s, this doesn’t justify, in my opinion, the broad conclusions she draws. On
the other hand, the major critic who has treated ''Harlot’s Ghost'' as a whole, John Whalen-Bridge argues persuasively in “The Myth of American Adam in Late Mailer” that Mailer’s novel debunks the “myth of the American Adam.” This “myth” described by R.W.B
Lewis (and others) concerns alleged American “innocence” which Whalen-Bridge convincingly demonstrates is undermined by the novel. Whalen-Bridge is the major scholar that has written in detail on ''Harlot’s Ghost'' and draws the conclusion that “His [Mailer’s
DA] fictional interpretation of American intelligence work does more than any other work of literature to help readers gain access to ‘the imagination of the state.’ ” Unfortunately, few others have recognized the critical features of the novel. See also Whalen-Bridge, ''Political Fiction and the American Self''. Others who don’t believe the novel is critical of the CIA include Glenday who, in his biography states categorically that the novel “doesn’t set out be, then, a critique of the CIA” (p. 131) and Dearborn.}} This is undoubtedly because the novel presents a strange puzzle; both its content and form need careful consideration before its significance can be understand.


My essay offers a reading of the novel in relation to Mailer’s efforts to use
My essay offers a reading of the novel in relation to Mailer’s efforts to use
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{{notelist}}
{{notelist}}


2. One of the many critics who argue this way is Heather Nielson ~pp. 23–41!, who sums up
 
her conclusion about Mailer’s politics based on Harlot’s Ghost and Oswald’s Tale by stating, “What an examination of the persistent presence of Kennedy in their writings tends
 
to suggest is that, for all Mailer’s non-conformism, his oeuvre serves to ultimately uphold
the defining myths of the society which he describes, while that of Vidal works to undermine them” ~23!. While her analysis of the episodes featuring Kennedy in Mailer’s work
and Vidal’s is persuasive in showing that Mailer’s writings on Kennedy are more positive than Vidal’s, this doesn’t justify, in my opinion, the broad conclusions she draws. On
the other hand, the major critic who has treated Harlot’s Ghost as a whole, John WhalenBridge argues persuasively in “The Myth of American Adam in Late Mailer” that Mailer’s novel debunks the “myth of the American Adam.” This “myth” described by R.W.B
Lewis ~and others! concerns alleged American “innocence” which Whalen-Bridge convincingly demonstrates is undermined by the novel.Whalen-Bridge is the major scholar
that has written in detail on Harlot’s Ghost and draws the conclusion that “His @Mailer’s
DA# fictional interpretation of American intelligence work does more than any other
work of literature to help readers gain access to ‘the imagination of the state.’ ” Unfortunately, few others have recognized the critical features of the novel. See also WhalenBridge, Political Fiction and the American Self. Others who don’t believe the novel is
critical of the CIA include Glenday who, in his biography states categorically that the
novel “doesn’t set out be, then, a critique of the CIA” ~p. 131! and Dearborn.
470 { THE MAILER REVIEW
3. I would place this novel alongside masterpieces of Cold War literature such as Coover,
3. I would place this novel alongside masterpieces of Cold War literature such as Coover,
Doctorow and Delillo below. All of these novels challenge the conventions of traditional
Doctorow and Delillo below. All of these novels challenge the conventions of traditional
Amylhester
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