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Mythic Mailer in An American Dream: Difference between revisions
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After leaving Kelly, Rojack continues his quest. Like the eternal American cowboy he heads West, delving deeper into himself, knowing that "the only true journey, of knowledge is from the depth of one being to the heart of another".{{sfn|Mailer|1964-65|p=11}} In search of this knowledge, his Grail, he ventures South into the primitive origins of America. Like other heroes in myth--Wolfram's Parzival, Ovid's Orpheus, and Lucas's Luke Skywalker-Mailer's Rojack has dealt with the necessity of violence, the lure of sexuality, the importance of ritual, and the despair of failure. Failure is rife in the desert of New York City. Campbell describes the reason: "it's the problem of the Waste Land--people living life inauthentically, living not their life but the life that's put on them by society". {{sfn|Campbell|1964-65|p=251}} Rojack's tenacity and courage endure as he continues his journey towards authenticity. Bufithis places the mythic center of the novel squarely on Rojack's shoulders: "the cosmos can improve if Rojack acts bravely. Such is the mythical meaning Mailer attributes to Rojack".{{sfn|Bufithis|1978|p=68}} In ''An American Dream'', Mailer, through Rojack, has reached new mythical heights. | After leaving Kelly, Rojack continues his quest. Like the eternal American cowboy he heads West, delving deeper into himself, knowing that "the only true journey, of knowledge is from the depth of one being to the heart of another".{{sfn|Mailer|1964-65|p=11}} In search of this knowledge, his Grail, he ventures South into the primitive origins of America. Like other heroes in myth--Wolfram's Parzival, Ovid's Orpheus, and Lucas's Luke Skywalker-Mailer's Rojack has dealt with the necessity of violence, the lure of sexuality, the importance of ritual, and the despair of failure. Failure is rife in the desert of New York City. Campbell describes the reason: "it's the problem of the Waste Land--people living life inauthentically, living not their life but the life that's put on them by society". {{sfn|Campbell|1964-65|p=251}} Rojack's tenacity and courage endure as he continues his journey towards authenticity. Bufithis places the mythic center of the novel squarely on Rojack's shoulders: "the cosmos can improve if Rojack acts bravely. Such is the mythical meaning Mailer attributes to Rojack".{{sfn|Bufithis|1978|p=68}} In ''An American Dream'', Mailer, through Rojack, has reached new mythical heights. | ||
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==Citations== | ==Citations== | ||
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== Works Cited == | == Works Cited == | ||
* Adams | * {{cite journal |last=Adams |first=Laura |date=1975 |title="Existential Aesthetics: An Interview with Norman Mailer" | journal=Partisan Review |location=42 |page=197-214 Rpt. in Conversations with Norman Mailer. Ed. Michael J. Lennon. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 1988. 200-227 }} | ||
* {{cite magazine |last=Aldridge |first=John W. |date=March 19, 1965 |title=[[The Big Comeback of Norman Mailer]] |url= |magazine=Life |location= |page=12 |ref=harv }} | * {{cite magazine |last=Aldridge |first=John W. |date=March 19, 1965 |title=[[The Big Comeback of Norman Mailer]] |url= |magazine=Life |location= |page=12 |ref=harv }} | ||
* Begiebing, Robert J. Acts of Regeneration: Allegory and Archetype in the Work of Norman Mailer. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1980. | * Begiebing, Robert J. "Acts of Regeneration: Allegory and Archetype in the Work of Norman Mailer". Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1980. | ||
* Blotner, Joseph L. "Mythic Patterns in To The Lighthouse." PMLA Sept. 1956: 547-62. | * Blotner, Joseph L. "Mythic Patterns in To The Lighthouse." PMLA Sept. 1956: 547-62. | ||
* Bufithis, Philip H. Norman Mailer. Modem Literature Monographs. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1978. | * Bufithis, Philip H. "Norman Mailer. Modem Literature Monographs". New York: Frederick Ungar, 1978. | ||
* Burridge, Kenelm. "Cargo. | * Burridge, Kenelm. "Cargo". Mythology. Ed. Pierre Maranda. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1972. 127-35. | ||
* Campbell, Joseph. Transformations of Myth Through Time. New York: Harper, 1990. | * Campbell, Joseph. "Transformations of Myth Through Time". New York: Harper, 1990. | ||
* Cassirer , Ernst. The Myth of the State. New Haven: Yale UP, 1946. | * Cassirer , Ernst. "The Myth of the State". New Haven: Yale UP, 1946. | ||
* Chase, Richard. Quest for Myth. New York: Greenwood P, 1949. | * Chase, Richard. "Quest for Myth. New York": Greenwood P, 1949. | ||
* {{cite magazine |last=Didion |first=Joan |date=April 20, 1965 |title=A Social Eye |url= |magazine=National Review |pages=329–330 |publisher= |access-date= |ref=harv }} | * {{cite magazine |last=Didion |first=Joan |date=April 20, 1965 |title=A Social Eye |url= |magazine=National Review |pages=329–330 |publisher= |access-date= |ref=harv }} | ||
* Friedman, Norman. Form and Meaning in Fiction. Athens: U of Georgia P, 1975. | * Friedman, Norman. "Form and Meaning in Fiction". Athens: U of Georgia P, 1975. | ||
* {{cite book |last=Frye |first=Northrop |date=1957 |title=Anatomy of Criticism |url= |location=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |page= |ref=harv |author-link=w:Northrop Frye }} | * {{cite book |last=Frye |first=Northrop |date=1957 |title=Anatomy of Criticism |url= |location=Princeton |publisher=Princeton University Press |page= |ref=harv |author-link=w:Northrop Frye }} | ||
* "The Archetypes of Literature." The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends. Ed. David H. Richter. New York: St. Martin's, 1989. 677- 685. | * "The Archetypes of Literature." The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends. Ed. David H. Richter. New York: St. Martin's, 1989. 677- 685. | ||