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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 5, what is Mailer's mind racing to figure out?

2. Which of the following is not a reason Mailer gives for a person's opposition to the War in Chapter 7?

3. In Chapter 1 of Book II, to whom does the "writer" pass the baton?

4. Which of the following is not an area that the attorney of Chapter 4 gets permission for protest activity?

5. How is Mailer certain the MP in Chapter 6 is not going to hit him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the Fugs do at the Pentagon in Chapter 5?

2. How does Mailer think about his family in Chapter 5?

3. In the detain room in Chapter 3, what strikes Mailer about the people around him?

4. What train of people following the the march in Chapter 4?

5. Describe the more extreme voices in the march planning as discussed in Chapter 5.

6. Describe the mood of the crown in the beginning of Chapter 4.

7. What reasons does Mailer list in Chapter 7 for people to be against the war?

8. What comic episode happens when Mailer is getting changed for his arraignment in Chapter 8?

9. What permits does the Mobilization Committee get in Chapter 4?

10. How does Mailer determine it is time to get arrested at the end of Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Norman Mailer is a large, robust, arrogant personality. His placement at the center of most of the novel creates a powerful presence the reader must contend with. Write an essay about the divergent components of Mailer's personality. Begin by discussing his engorged id. How does Mailer revel in excess int he early passages of the novel? What is he trying to achieve? In the second half of the essay, discuss the emerging of Mailer's better angels. How does this reflect another side to Mailer, one that wants to show respect and graciousness? How is the novel as a whole a reflection of this desire?

Essay Topic 2

Norman Mailer, throughout the novel, refers to himself and the other writers and organizers of the march as notables, indicating that they will get preferential treatment from authorities. Mailer makes clear in Armies of the Night that the notables have less at stake than the younger, less famous participants. Write an essay about the difference in consequences faced by the notables and the younger marchers, focusing on two groups. What pain does each group face? Why are the notables excepted from this risk? How do the younger groups face this danger with stoic resolve over the course of the novel?

Part 1) The young men who have turned over their draft cards.

Part 2) The marchers who remain camped in the Pentagon lot on Saturday evening.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout Armies of the Night, Mailer interrupts his own narrative to discuss the novel itself and his decisions regarding how to tell the story. Write an essay about these interruptions, their function in the writing, and their effect on the reader:

Part 1) How does Mailer explain his decision to halt the narrative after his arrest? What information does he go back in time to impart before continuing with the events of the march? Discuss what Mailer indicates himself about a writer by this self-referential interruptus. Is he merely indicating that he is an incorrigible trickster?

Part 2) In the final passages of Book I, Mailer interrupts the events in Occoquan to offer a treatise on America's involvement in Vietnam. Why is this passage significant in understanding the development of Mailer the character? To what extent does it illustrate character growth in the story?

Part 3) Discuss the interruption of narration at the beginning of Book II. What significant literary development is happening in the novel at this point, and why is Mailer choosing to halt the story to inform the reader? How does this interruptus serve to mark a complete tone shift in the novel?

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