Much occurs after this statement, but I cling to the hope that this might be his message, that when you crawl out of your own depths, what is waiting for you at the peak, is other people, love.

Shaw, Justin (2014). "Destabilizing Sexistentialism and Hegemonic Masculinity in Norman Mailer's An American Dream". Canadian Review of American Studies. 44 (1): 44–64. doi: 10.3138/cras.2013.030.Up to the Nostrils in Anguish': Mailer and Bellow on Masculine Anxiety and Violent Catharsis". The Mailer Review. 9 (1): 99–117. ISSN 1936-4679. Piazza, Tom (2011). "Citizen Mailer". Devil Sent the Rain: Music and Writing in Desperate America. New York: Harper Perennial. pp.213–221. ISBN 9780062008220. New York Times critic Paul Berman has hailed The Armies of the Night as a "masterpiece," the first part of a two-volume participant-observer-journalistic portrait of the antiwar movement of the late 1960s—bookended by Miami and the Siege of Chicago (on the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in the summer of 1968. [25] Adam Gopnik states that the real subject in The Armies of the Night is the generational clash between men in the 1950s who were brought up with different ideologies. Mailer's generation was brought up "in a kind of sober radicalism that valued intellect, exemplified by literature, above all; they found themselves protesting the Vietnam War with a new generation that valued emotional affect, exemplified by music, above all." Mailer also mentions how "the younger protestors" were dressed as a way to highlight the difference between the generations. Gopnik also analyzes the similarity between Mailer's era and how things are today. In the climax of the novel when protestors confronts a group of military policemen outside of the Pentagon, Gopnik notes that it showcases the two Americas, divided in "class and the rural and urban lines that is still relevant today." [24]

Berman, Paul (August 24, 2008). "Mailer's Great American Breakdown". The New York Times. Books . Retrieved 2018-12-07.Mailer divides American opinion on the Vietnam War into two camps, the Hawks and the Doves, the former in favor of the war and the latter opposed to it. Mailer argues that he disagrees with both camps and places himself in his own category of the Leftist-Conservative, a label he had employed in several of his other works. Mailer summarized the arguments each side had for and against the war, as well as his disagreements with both parties. He noted that the Hawks held five main arguments in favor of continuing or expanding the Vietnam War: If it was simply a crime novel, we might be able to tolerate some of the attitudes that are conveyed in the novel. It might be arguable that they are simply those of the perpetrator of the crime and should be understood in that context. Why are we in Vietnam" is at the center of Mailer's The Armies of the Night. The chapter, located roughly at the end of the first half of the novel, is a clinical exploration of the involvement of the United States in Vietnam. The format differs from the previous sections the reader has followed the character of Norman Mailer along through preparations for the protest at the Pentagon, the protest itself, and finally Mailer's imprisonment. Following the imprisonment of Mailer, said character goes to sleep and this section occurs. This section, described by some as the author's dream, can be described as an internal monologue regarding the issues surrounding the Vietnam War. It appears strikingly out of touch with the surrounding portions of the novel, and could easily be transplanted into the editorial section of a newspaper. This section bridges the gap between the view of Norman Mailer the character and Norman Mailer, the author and presents his most straight forward discussion of the war in the novel.

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In his article "Confessions of the Last American", Conor Cruise O'Brien claimed AON as an important resource for historians "concerned with the moral and emotional climate of America in the late Sixties". [34] O'Brien narrows historical information to the white middle-class and intellectual participation in the protests, along with race relations. Praised for his scholarly analysis in AON, O'Brien credits Mailer for lending an important breathe of life into the history surrounding the march on the Pentagon through his "honest" re-telling of events. I also have a feeling that my reasons for disliking it might pertain almost solely to women and extremely sensitive/feminist men. So maybe don't bother reading this if you're a guy who plain likes graphic sex, violence, wealth, and intrigue; you might think this book is swell. And, let's keep in mind, I'm usually totally enthralled with sexual deviance and graphic sex as literary themes. Taylor, Gordon O. (March 1974). "Of Adams and Aquarius". American Literature. 46 (1): 68–82. doi: 10.2307/2924124. JSTOR 2924124. I said before that the book was incomplete and shortsighted, and considering the density of the book's descriptions coupled with the relatively basic nature of the story, this makes it a long winded story that just sort of exhales slowly in conclusion, a deep breath with little follow through or resolution in the end, the latter is understandable and even inevitable, but the former is just poor writing. The sour truth is that I am imprisoned with a perception which will settle for nothing less than making a revolution in the consciousness of our time.

Robert Merrill posits that An American Dream seems to suggest violence "is not an intolerable aberration but an extreme example of life's essential irrationality". [49] Publication [ edit ] Hyman, Stanley Edgar (1972). "Norman Mailer's Yummy Rump". In Braudy, Leo (ed.). Norman Mailer: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. pp.104–108.The comic dimension of Mailer’s writing is large though unwitting. But its humorous potential should not be allowed to obscure its many sinister elements. Norman Mailer is funny unintentionally; he is knowingly repulsive. He is an important figure in America’s cultural revolution not because people found him ridiculous but, on the contrary, because they took this ridiculous man seriously. Broer, Lawrence R. (2016). "Meta-Modernism in An American Dream". The Mailer Review. 10 (1): 99–116. ISSN 1936-4679. Macdonald, Dwight (1974). " Armies of the Night, or Bad Man Makes Good". Discriminations: Essays and Afterthoughts. New York: Grossman. pp.210–216. ISBN 9780670274376. OCLC 72900083. Whalen-Bridge, John (2002). "Murderous Desire in Lolita: With Related Thoughts on Mailer's An American Dream". Nabokov Studies. 7: 75–88. Seib, Kenneth A. (Spring 1974). "Mailer's March: The Epic Structure of The Armies of the Night". Essays in Literature. 1: 89–95.