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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 1, Mailer claims that America's New Left is drawing its political aesthetic from what country?

2. In Chapter 2, to whom does Mailer state he holds final allegiance?

3. How many young men in Chapter 3 will go to the Department of Justice to represent those turning in their draft cards?

4. Which of Mailer's books is he clinging onto at he enters the theatre in Chapter 5?

5. In Chapter 4, what events does Mailer contend are always the same?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mailer feel about left-wing splinter groups' names in Chapter 3?

2. What is the plan for the Justice Department protest?

3. What narrative is told by the Time Magazine article of Chapter 1?

4. Why are Mailer, Macdonald, and Lowell ambivalent about getting arrested in Chapter 1?

5. How do Ed de Grazia and Mailer scuffle in Chapter 5?

6. How does Mailer respond to William Sloane Coffin in Chapter 3?

7. How is Robert Lowell received by the audience?

8. What does Mailer find at the church in Chapter 3?

9. What happens once the group arrives at the Justice Department in Chapter 4?

10. Describe the performance space of this section.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Norman Mailer is an arrogant, hard-living, patently cynical person, but he cares passionately about what others think of him. When he sees someone who is more respected or more famous, Mailer is stricken with a combination of fascination and maddened jealousy. Write an essay about three such individuals. How does the narrative juxtapose these people with the character of Mailer? How does he react to them? Do they inspire anger, respect, or some combination of both in him?

Part 1) Robert Lowell

Part 2) William Sloane Coffin

Part 3) Noam Chomsky

Essay Topic 2

Mailer's novel is a powerfully eloquent evocation of the pain, passion, and hard realities surrounding the 1967 March on the Pentagon, but it is peppered with instances of his being unable to adequately express his feelings about America, protest and the war. Write an essay, detailing three instances in which Mailer is fantastically ineffective in explaining himself to crowds or the press? How does he explaining this iniquity? What does he feel when he soberly understands media reaction to his words? Sum up the essay with a discussion of how the novel Armies of the Night is, in part, his attempt to right these failures.

Essay Topic 3

A good portion of the opening passages of Armies of the Night are as much about the niceties and snipes of the literary class in 1960's America as the protest culture of the same. Write an essay about Mailer's place and opinions in the world of prolific writers in the novel, focusing on three instances:

Part 1) Why does Mailer agree to come to the Pentagon march in Washington, DC? Discuss how this decision is more connected to his literary position in New York than his opinions on the Vietnam War? What does Mailer want to achieve through his involvement in the protest?

Part 2) Discuss the party held the first evening Mailer is in Washington, DC. What decisions does he make about the way that he treats the hostess? What is the reason for the awkward encounter Mailer has with Dwight Macdonald?

Part 3) Mailer enters the Ambassador presentation like a wrecking ball, attempting to destroy everyone around him. Discuss his reasons for doing this. What does he resent about those on the stage? How does Mailer want to be perceived by the audience? How does the popular reaction to his antics temper his behavior for the remainder of the weekend?

(see the answer keys)

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