Norman Mailer's non-fiction novel, *The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel/The Novel as History*, offers a unique and deeply personal account of the October 1967 March on the Pentagon. Published in 1968, this work earned Mailer both the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and the National Book Award in Arts and Letters. It stands as a significant example of new journalism, blending historical reporting with Mailer's subjective experiences and reflections.
The book originated from an essay titled "The Steps of the Pentagon," which was, at the time, the longest magazine article ever published in *Harper's Magazine*.
Mailer's motivation to attend and chronicle the march was partly pragmatic, driven by financial considerations, especially after the mixed receptions of his previous works, *An American Dream* and *Why Are We in Vietnam?*. His narrative is complex, featuring a self-portrait that includes outlandish, third-person accounts of himself and self-descriptions like "novelist/historian" and "anti-star/hero," all framed within the genre of a nonfiction novel.
Mailer's Arrest and Imprisonment During the March
On the day of the March, a Saturday, Mailer was among the first to arrive at the Pentagon, intending to get arrested. He achieved this without resistance and was subsequently taken into custody. His initial interactions included a neo-Nazi at the site before he was moved to a holding cell in a courthouse. While there, he contemplated sharing the money he had brought for bail with his fellow cellmates, ultimately giving much of it away. Conversations among the detainees revolved around rumors of their release and the ongoing events at the Pentagon.
Later, Mailer and the other arrestees were transferred to the Occoquan, Virginia workhouse. During his time sleeping there, the section of the book titled "Why Are We in Vietnam" is presented. Throughout his imprisonment, Mailer was periodically interviewed by a British journalist, Dick Fountain, accompanied by a cameraman for a documentary. Mailer often expressed happiness at seeing them and willingly provided interviews. A deal was eventually proposed for the protestors to plead "Nolo Contendere" and receive a five-day suspended sentence. Mailer initially refused, preferring to plead guilty, but despite changing his mind, he received a harsher judgment: a 30-day jail sentence and a $50 fine. After numerous legal challenges, Mailer was released and delivered a rambling speech about Jesus Christ to the press.
The Literary Gathering and Mailer's Role
In Washington, Mailer connected with other literary figures involved in the movement, including Robert Lowell and Dwight Macdonald. It was decided that Mailer would serve as the Master of Ceremonies for an event at the Ambassador Theater. At this event, Mailer reportedly drank excessively, embarrassed himself, and was described by *Time* magazine as "mumbling and spewing obscenities as he staggered about the stage—which he had commandeered by threatening to beat up the previous M.C. after being late to the start of the ceremony—Mailer described in detail his search for a usable privy on the premises." Mailer referred to himself with multiple egos, such as "The Prince of Bourbon" and "The Beast," viewing his role as MC as a form of competition with other speakers. The following day, he observed many speeches at an event where 996 draft cards were surrendered.
Exploring the Vietnam War: "Why Are We in Vietnam?"
The chapter "Why Are We in Vietnam?" is central to Mailer's *The Armies of the Night*. Positioned near the end of the first half of the novel, this section offers a clinical examination of the United States' involvement in Vietnam. Its format differs significantly from the preceding parts, which follow Mailer's character through the protest preparations, the protest itself, and his imprisonment. This section, which occurs while Mailer's character is asleep, is often described as the author's dream or an internal monologue concerning the issues surrounding the Vietnam War. It stands out from the surrounding narrative and could easily function as an editorial piece, bridging the gap between Norman Mailer the character and Norman Mailer the author, presenting his most direct discussion of the war within the novel.
Mailer categorized American opinions on the Vietnam War into two main groups: the Hawks, who supported the war, and the Doves, who opposed it. He stated his disagreement with both camps, placing himself in his own category of the "Leftist-Conservative," a label he had used in other works. Mailer summarized the arguments for and against the war from both sides, as well as his own points of contention. He noted that the Hawks presented five primary arguments for continuing or expanding the war: it would deter Chinese guerrilla expansion in Asia, rally small Asian nations to America's side, underscore America's commitment to defending these nations, serve as an inexpensive way to fight a great power compared to direct confrontation, and be superior to initiating a nuclear war with China.
Conversely, the Doves argued that the Vietnam War failed to defend America and instead united Vietnam with China, two nations previously at odds. They also contended that the war was not an inexpensive means of containing China but rather an extraordinarily costly one. Mailer observed that the Vietnam War had already consumed itself and that its true damage was occurring within the United States, contributing to the deterioration of civil rights and exposing students to drugs and nihilism. While Mailer believed the Doves had stronger arguments, he noted their failure to address the Hawks' most crucial claim: "The most powerful argument remained: what if we leave Vietnam, and all Asia eventually goes Communist? all of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, Japan, and India?" Mailer, however, was willing to address this, stating that while it was probable most of Asia would turn to Communism after an American withdrawal, he questioned whether it truly mattered. He embraced the possibility of a Communist Asia but did not view it as the calamity many others did. He argued that Communism was not monolithic and that the Soviet Union, despite America's efforts to export its technology and culture to Vietnam, would also be unable to unite all of Asia. Mailer suggested it was more likely that these nations, even if communist, would remain in conflict with each other, with some potentially seeking U.S. aid against others. Therefore, Mailer concluded that the only solution was to leave Asia to the Asians.
Mailer ultimately identified the "saddest conclusion" of the Vietnam War as its revelation of the country's deep state of schizophrenia, a theme present in his earlier work, *The White Negro*. In *Why Are We in Vietnam?*, Mailer observed that "The average American, striving to do his duty, drove further every day into working for Christ, and drove equally further each day in the opposite direction—into working for the absolute computer of the corporation ... So the average good Christian American secretly loved the war in Vietnam. It opened his emotions. He felt compassion for the hardships and the sufferings of the American boys in Vietnam, even the Vietnamese orphans." He juxtaposed Christian ethics with America's corporate mentality, viewing these two ethical systems as diametrically opposed yet remarkably coexisting within the average American, a feat of cognitive dissonance leading to the nation's schizophrenia. Mailer saw the war as a form of catharsis that satisfied both moral and material ethics, allowing the corporate ethic to expand its influence and technology while providing American Christians an outlet for emotional urges like pity. He concluded that these systems were logically incompatible but intertwined in the American psyche, asserting that "America needed the war. It would need a war so long as technology expanded on every road of communication, and the cities and corporations spread like cancer; the good Christian American needed the war or they would lose their Christ."
In 1968, the same year *Armies* was published, Mailer began working on *Miami and the Siege of Chicago* after witnessing the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, employing a comparable rhetorical approach to evoke historical underpinnings.
