Preview of The Ninth Configuration Summary:

Besides being antimilitary and asking how madness is defined, the novel explores the problematic nature of identity—in keeping with both the 1960s "identity crises" and the later spread of psychotherapy and self-help books. Literally, the whole plot depends on an identity confusion, hinted at in mysterylike fashion throughout the book, and a deliberate masquerade, revealed more suddenly towards the end. The first scene features an inmate presenting himself as Dr. Fell, the in-house physician, complete with stolen clothing. Moreover, role playing, if not actually switching identities, shows up in Shakespearean drama put on by a mental patient, Reno (with dogs as actors), and in Kane's decision to let the inmates act out the movie The Great Escape, "for therapeutic reasons," even ordering the Marines running Camp 18 to dress as Nazis.

Blatty also plays with names and naming throughout the book. Whether jokingly or through insanity, Cutshaw...