The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
"The Naked and the Dead," published in May 1948, is the debut novel of American author Norman Mailer, set against the backdrop of World War II. The narrative follows American troops attacking a Japanese-held island, showcasing the stark realities of military life, including the struggles of heat, exhaustion, and interpersonal conflicts among soldiers. The novel gained significant acclaim, spending eleven weeks atop The New York Times best-seller list and selling nearly 200,000 copies in its first year. Mailer, who sought combat experience to write authentically about war, infused the story with a critical perspective on American society, exploring themes of power, violence, and bureaucracy, often represented by the antagonistic figures of General Cummings and Sergeant Croft.
The work is notable for its frank depiction of the horrors of war, which Mailer later described as symbolic, with critics viewing the soldiers as a reflection of broader societal issues, such as class privilege and fascism. Despite its conventional structure, the novel employs innovative narrative techniques reminiscent of earlier social protest literature. "The Naked and the Dead" is often recognized for its prescient critique of conformism and the futility of human endeavor, leaving a lasting impact on war literature and contributing to the discourse surrounding subsequent conflicts. The novel was also adapted into a film in 1958, further solidifying its cultural significance.
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
Identification World War II novel about Americans fighting in the Pacific
Author Norman Mailer (1923-2007)
Date Published in May, 1948
An immediately popular account of the horrors of war, The Naked and the Dead helped set the pattern for negative depictions of warfare. It also raised issues of power and violence that Mailer was to explore further in later years.
Norman Mailer burst upon the American literary scene with the May, 1948, publication of his first book, The Naked and the Dead, a fictional account of an attack by American troops on a Japanese-held island during World War II. For eleven weeks, Mailer’s book held the top position on The New York Times best-seller list, and it sold nearly 200,000 copies during its first year.
Mailer, who had sought a combat role in the Pacific precisely in order to write a novel about it, instantly acquired the fame he had been seeking ever since he was an adolescent. Throughout the rest of his career, in increasingly unorthodox ways, he pursued the limelight through both his books and his personal life.
The Naked and the Dead won praise as one of the best books to come out of the war, and it is notable for its focus on the horrors of life in the Army, horrors that stem less from the Japanese adversary than from heat, exhaustion, the soldiers’ petty bickering and bigotry, and the sight of dead bodies. Although the novel was praised at the time for its realism, Mailer himself called it a symbolic book, and later critics have seen Mailer’s army as a microcosm of American society and as a warning against the dangers of fascism and bureaucracy in American life. The book is also suffused with a pessimistic sense of the futility of human endeavor in the face of external forces and chance. It is also marked by widespread use of profanity, which went beyond what was common at the time, though Mailer was persuaded to use the word “fug” in place of another expletive.
Though technically more conventional than his later books, the novel does use some “time machine” flashbacks reminiscent of the novels of John Dos Passos during the 1930’s. Mailer’s novel is often said to have been influenced by the social protest novels of that decade, embodying a left-liberal critique of American society focused on such issues as class privilege, racism, poverty, and the threat of fascism. The latter threat is embodied in the characters of General Cummings and Sergeant Croft, who are devotees of power, violence, and hierarchy. Although these two characters ostensibly are the villains of the novel, Mailer later noted that at some level he was drawn to them, and they triumph over the more liberal Lieutenant Hearn. In the end, however, Croft and Cummings are also thwarted, and victory goes to the bureaucratic, conformist Major Dalleson. Mailer’s novel is thus sometimes seen as a prophetic warning against the conformism of the subsequent decade, but as he commented at the time, ultimately The Naked and the Dead stands or falls as a realistic portrayal of the horrors of war.
Impact
The Naked and the Dead continues to be celebrated as a successful war novel and is pointed to as an early portrayal of the grim realities of war. Even though it was written about a popular war that usually was portrayed in positive terms, the novel conveyed the negative aspects of military life in a way that anticipated the later negative portrayals of less popular wars such as the Vietnam conflict. The novel also launched the eccentric career of Norman Mailer and raised the issues of power and violence, issues that Mailer was to explore more fully in such later works as Advertisements for Myself (1959) and in his personal life. The book was turned into a 1958 film.
Bibliography
Huebner, Andrew J. The Warrior Image: Soldiers in American Culture from the Second World War to the Vietnam Era. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008.
Merrill, Robert. Norman Mailer Revisited. New York: Twayne, 1992.
Mills, Hilary. Mailer: A Biography. New York: Empire Books, 1982.