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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. Which of the following is not something Mailer describes as the march begins in Chapter 4?

2. Next to what famous left icon's bunk does Mailer lay down at the end of Chapter 6?

3. Which writer does Mailer think he is a stand-in for the young people in Chapter 7?

4. What sources are reviewed through much of Chapter 5?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What do the MP's and the marchers have in common, according to Mailer in Chapter 6?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. How does Dellinger go about planning the march in Chapters 2 and 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Throughout the novel Armies of the Night, Norman Mailer makes reference to other source materials. These offer the reader another vantage for the events of October, 1967. Write an essay about these source materials, focusing on two uses in the novel:

Part 1) The novel begins with a an assessment of Norma Mailer's involvement in the march on the Pentagon in Time Magazine. What does this article have to say about Mailer? How, in essence, does it provide a counterpoint for what follows in the rest of the novel? To what extent does this article both inspire Mailer to write the novel and serve as a destination of sorts for him? Why is Mailer so dedicated to responding to the article?

Part 2) The second book of the novel is full of quotes and references to other publications. Discuss several of these publications and their role in Book II. How does their inclusion reflect a different sort of narration from the narration in Book I? Is Mailer attempting to cite them as corroboration or refute them as he does the Time Magazine story?

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