Norman Mailer's Participation and Observation in The Armies of the Night

For his book "The Armies of the Night," Mailer has been credited for bringing creative non-fiction genre to life. The combination of his provocative journalistic skill and his flair for literary fiction have brought a unique writing style to this novel, one that positions Mailer as both an observer and a participant in the events detailed in the book. The two personas, minus the occasional announcements of their presence by Mailer, emerge through his use of language. Mailer as the participant is different from Mailer as the observer - this is evident through differences in relationships with the reader and the events taking place, lexical features, sentential strategy, tenor of discourse, and narrative rhetoric.

Mailer is tactful in his presentation of the observer and the participant. The observer addresses the reader in a more impersonal manner; he is detached and doesn't feel invested in his relationship with the reader. The observer is also present when Mailer, while refering to himself in third person and documenting events at hand, appears disengaged and offers virtually no insight into the range of emotions he may be feeling. Mailer as the observer is more formal and conservitive in his speech, paying close attention to detail and staying politically correct in his statements. He is focused on the functional tenor of discourse, concentrating on the message he is delivering rather then on establishing a personal connection with the reader. His writing mostly reflects a sweet style.

This distance between Mailer and his surroundings is made obvious at the beginning of the text, where he finds himself at the liberal party (page 13). He first offers a description of the girls at the party, calling them "...too young for him, they were still in the late stages of some sort of extraordinary progressive school, and were innocent, decent-spirited, merry, red-cheeked, idealistic, and utterly lobotomized away from the sense of sin"(page 14). Mailer continues his observations, stating later on the same page "the room has not yet been described". He then proceeds to do so, presenting himself as an author, indicating that the place is "functional," "institutional brown and library grey". However, while he finds the place depressing and makes implications about people who own it, he states "liberal technologies were not without character and principle" to shows his attempt to remain objective and uninvolved (page 15). The use of noun adjuncts, as we see above, is just one example of the features of sweet talk. Other features include excessive use of adjectives (such as semi-notorious, irrational, undernourished, etc within the same section of the novel), showcase of finite verbs (cast, exist, enter, etc.), creative punctuation (this is done throughout the text with parenthesis, semicolons, and dashes), and contractions and fragments (such as those on page 22, "Chuckles. Headmastersmanship.", which usually appear in conjunction with dialogue). In addition, Mailer as the observer is more concerned about relating his message to the audience, assuring that the content of his novel is taken both as his story and as a documentation of historical events; it is this persona that delivers the descriptions of people and places from a perspective of an eyewitness. This is evident in the passage cited above - Mailer's concern lies in informing us, the audience, of his surroundings, of the people and their behavior. The text may infer what Mailer's thoughts are, but the main reason for the text is to inform us of the situation. This is even more obvious in Book Two of the novel in part 2, titled Symbolic Search. This is just one of the examples where Mailer is concerned about presenting facts and circumstances as he understands based on his experiences. He discusses how the idea of the march emerged, "derived from the success and the organizational mechanics of the April March"(page 221). He proceeds to inform his readers of the events that preceded the rally - while we feel his presence in these events, listening to him discuss how "Left Wing would be a drab parade of mimeograph machines" if it were not for the million people who marched in the prior rally, we can make a connection with the facts and events, but we have not yet formed a bond with Mailer. His goal, as the observer, is to let us in on the events, to introduce us to the historical aspect of the March, to attempt to remain objective and educate us. As his audience, we can almost imagine Mailer as he shifts his attention from one person to another, from one object to another, but we acknowledge that Mailer the observer remains on the outskirts of the situation.

In respect to the lexical features and narrative strategy, both of Mailer's personas are similar in their expression - both the observer and the participant use high tension, complex sentences, allowing a very educated voice to emerge. But they are different in other aspects of their expression. Mailer as the participant is less concerned with being respectful and politically correct; he is more passionate and presumptuous in his journey, unafraid to express his emotional state and let his mind control the text. While the observer is the informant of the message, the participant is more concerned about his relationship with the reader; he builds his credibility and seeks our understanding by manipulating parts of his text as to place us directly in the action. His focus on personal tenor of discourse is accompanied by tough talk, as he attempts to be clear and straightforward in his accounts of his thoughts.

The passages were Mailer the participant really shines are found on pages 112 through 114. It is at these moments, as the march is progressing, that two things occur: first, the language is used in such a way to place us in the middle of the march as we become immersed into the event and follow the action beat by beat, and second, Mailer as our first-hand source becomes alive in these pages as his thoughts flow and we follow his range of emotions. One of the linguistic choices Mailer makes in these pages is to include a sentence that is high tension and complex, one which describes the movement of the march and the movement in Mailer's feelings. The sentence begins on page 113, and follows Mailer and Lowell as they walk in front, facing cameras, moving arm to arm with other members of the rally; as the walk progresses, Mailer's mind wanders to the complexity of the situation, to the efforts at hand and the larger concept of freedom in America. The beat is set in this text through words and phrases that places the reader in the event; "arms linked...speeding up a few steps, slowing down...helicopters buzzing about, chop-chop...", so the reader moves along the path with Mailer, reading faster in between the dashes, then slowing down, decreasing volume while reading the text in parenthesis. As the participant, Mailer positions himself closer to the audience; he gives us insight into his character and his mind frame. The personal tenor of discourse becomes obvious through statements he makes about himself. We learn that "he knew suddenly then he had less fear now than when he was a young man", that "in some part of himself at least, he had grown", and that he "felt a confirmation of the contests of his own life" (page 113-114). Mailer the participant is vulnerable to us, his audience; he doesn't hide behind the situation and depiction of other people but lets us into his world and somehow we relate to him, to his passion and his agenda. The persona of the participant is a tough talker. He uses monosyllabic words more often then the observer; the use of article the is more prominent in this part of the text as we are assumed to be familiar with circumstances and no backgrounding is needed. While he sustains the third person pronoun, more then half of all subjects in the passages are people (Mailer and Lowell, children, men, etc. are just a few participants in this text). The use of adjectives is rare; finite verbs compose majority of the text, including to be verb forms (a number of sentences include was, had, felt, knew, etc.). It is evident that Mailer the participant allows himself to relate to his audience and wants to pull them closer to the action; he is more informal in his communication and allows his point of view and thoughts to shift.

Mailer's linguistic choices as the author of this novel have been highly praised as he has written one of the most masterful texts. Closer examination reveals that Mailer has had many roles in this novel, first that of an author or novelist, then that of a participant, historian, observer, and the Beats (as he calls his temperamental self). The choices Mailer made, using language as his tool, showcase the smooth transitions of sentence patterns, narrative rhetoric, and metadiscursive features, all done in order to create two characters, the participant and the observer, each with its own levels of involvement in the events and with the readers. The ability to encompass different roles and bring them into one manifest is what makes Mailer and his work engaging and worthy of all the accolades this novel has received.