SOURCE: "Mailer's March: The Epic Structure of The Armies of the Night," in Essays in Literature, Vol. 1, 1974, pp. 89-95.

In the following essay, Seib identifies elements of Homeric epic in The Armies of the Night, particularly Mailer's concern for the destiny of the United States, allusions to the supernatural, and warfare as its central theme.

When speaking of Norman Mailer, it is common to discuss his various avatars as public persona and literary court jester. We see Mailer advertising for himself, sounding his yawp over the television airwaves, slugging it out mano a mano with such disparate opponents as Gore Vidal, Jose Torres, Germaine Greer, and Kate Millett. Prisoner of sex, pop astronaut, disk jockey to the world—Mailer has never been hit hard because his dazzling footwork keeps critics confused, and he changes style in each new round.

But literature's exhibitionists are quickly forgotten if there is...