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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. What does Mailer take from de Grazia in Chapter 4?

2. What phrase does Mailer use to stand in for any sort of improvised speech?

3. What crime would Mailer be guilty of in returning young men's draft cards during the march, according to the statement in Chapter 2?

4. In Chapter 2, what drug does Mailer repeatedly decry?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Mailer annoy Ed de Grazia in Chapter 4?

2. Describe the interactions Mailer has with his fellow speakers at the party in Chapter 4.

3. Describe Norman Mailer as a character.

4. Why does Mailer agree to join the Pentagon protest in Chapter 2?

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

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

7. What metaphor does Mailer use in Chapter 5 to describe the Vietnam controvery in America and who takes what sides?

8. Why is Mailer late to emcee the event in Chapter 5?

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

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

Write an essay about the use of stream-of-consciousness and free association in the narration of Armies of the Night. When are these modernist tools used most prevalently? To what extent do they appear when Mailer the character is swept up in some phenomenal experience? What does this style of narration say about Norman Mailer's state of mind? In the second half of the essay, discuss what Mailer most frequently associates toward. What does this say about his goals as an author in writing this novel?

Essay Topic 3

In the novel, New York and Washington, DC, are distinctly juxtaposed where one is a place of planning and thought and the other place of action of danger. Write an essay about the juxtaposition of these two cities. Which character best typifies the aesthetic of New York, in your opinion? Which character best typifies DC? What is the significance of the fact that many of the notables spend Saturday attempting to get back to New York for a society party? What does it mean that Mailer soon forgets about this goal?

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This section contains 1,060 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample