Evil in the Military: A Study of Norman Mailer's the Naked and the Dead

Spandana G. | Dr. Mallikarjuna J.V.N.

Abstract: The evil forces of totalitarianism in the military establishment had been a major concern to Norman Mailer in The Naked and the Dead. Mailer says ?the soldier has become an automated machine. Totalitarianism, Mailer, says, ? ?has slipped into the body cells and psyche of each of us. Mailer associates institutions, persons with totalitarianism by their intentions and functions. According to Mailer, totalitarianism as an institution is more powerful than the individual. Totalitarianism is a kind of cancer and is embodied in General Edward Cummings, the reactionary military leader who perpetuated the militarization of American society. Gen. Cumming and Ser. Croft stand for the totalitarian forces of society. The main theme of Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead is the problem of military command. It elucidates the adjustments of the power structures in the American Army where ?power flows from the top down?. The General who wanted to be the perpetrator of totalitarianism has himself become the ?Victim of the military machine. The philosophy of Norman Mailer in The Naked and the Dead is that every rung in the hierarchal ladder is to fear authority and at the same time fight within fear ladder against fascists.

Keywords: Totalitarianism, military establishment, clash of ideologist, war within war & fight with in fear ladder

Edition: Volume 5 Issue 9, September 2016,

Pages: 1465 - 1469