Abstract
The justification for undertaking this study lies in presenting a compact picture of war themes in the novels of Norman Mailer. He feels that war can give men an opportunity to encounter an essential human condition in which an individual must call upon his deepest resources to survive. He is always conscious of his death. He feels that life is war. The Second World War presents a mirror to the human condition, which blinded anyone who looked into it. The method of searching the theme has been analytical. This paper is based on his novel, The Naked and the Dead, a traditional and symbolic novel, crystallizes the evil of War. It is the best war novel after the Second World War. Mailer's other War novel, An American Dream, is a catalogue of the conflicts. The novel presents the vision of hope for individual salvation and spiritual growth. It shows that war dehumanizes man and brings disaster of every kind.
Highlights
The war that shocked humanity had brought forward newer sources of inspiration
In Vietnam War, Mailer is more patient in his hope for a transformation of American society
Lyndon Johnson and other Americans were pushed to an intolerable level of frustration, which could only be relieved by a violent external engagement such as the Vietnam War
Summary
The war that shocked humanity had brought forward newer sources of inspiration. Men were shaken and stimulated by world events and ideas. Unless a man keeps his courage, Mailer feels there is no love or mercy in our society. In the character of Hearn, Cummings, Croft and Valsen and each soldier's character in the platoon, Mailer uses the war situation to explore the questions of man's basic desires and psychic needs.
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