Part I, Chapters 5-6 Summary and Analysis

The party breaks up, and Mailer walks with his cohorts to The Ambassador, a theater two blocks away. The audience has been waiting for them for nearly an hour, being entertained by a folk music group. Although he is Master of Ceremonies, Mailer knows that he must find a bathroom before he gets on stage. The bathroom is upstairs, and when he gets there, he can't find a light switch and ends up urinating on the floor.

When he gets to the stage, he finds that de Grazia is performing as M.C., so he picks his way through people sitting in the front of the theater, climbs up onto the stage, and slaps de Grazia on the rear end, creating no small scene. He takes a knee and listens while Paul Goodman reads poetry...