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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 good news does John Boyle give Mailer in Chapter 3?

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

3. After a term in which of Mailer's books has the band named itself?

4. How does Mailer respond to the band's ritual in Chapter 6?

5. In Chapter 5, what is Mailer's assessment of the mistake the Revolutionary Contingent made during the march?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe the several movements the arrested marchers have to make in this section?

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

4. How does Dick Fontaine figure into the events of this section?

5. How does the tone of the novel shift dramatically at the beginning of Book II?

6. How does Mailer fair in court in Chapter 9?

7. Why is the Vietnam War fought, according to Mailer in Chapter 7?

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

9. How is the crowd becoming unruly in Chapter 4?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

Norman Mailer, the author of Armies of the Night, takes on several roles throughout the novel. He is protagonist, author, and historian at the same time. Write an essay about the interchange amongst these three Mailers, divided into three parts:

Part 1) Norman Mailer is the protagonist of the novel, but the narrator's relationship to him is not as intimate as one might expect. Explore how the point of view of the novel makes the character of Mailer as much object as subject. What aspects of the character does the narrator go to great pains to dissect? How does the he function as protagonist to the first book?

Part 2) Discuss the role of Mailer as narrator in the first book of the novel. What does his narration reflect about the author's personality and his relative level of sobriety? Would you say that Mailer the author is a reliable narrator? How does he react both to the events of the march and the actions of Mailer the character?

Part 3) Focus on Mailer's narration in the second book on the novel. He characterizes himself as a historian in this section. How is Mailer the narrator different from both Mailer the author and Mailer the character? Is his narration more or less reliable than it was in Book I? In what way do the two narrators meet at the beginning of Book II?

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