“Schizophrenia” And Its Remedy

As one of the most important representatives in the contemporary American literary world,Norman Mailer(1923-2007)stands out and attracts much attention owing to his unique artistic style and incisive social perception.Mailer is not merely a writer,but also a philosophical heir of American existentialism.He pays close attention to the events concerning social changes in America to uncover the most American issues.Moreover,he applies his philosophy of American existentialism to protest against social evils and to spread progressive ideas of transformation.Why Are We in Vietnam? is Mailer’s representative work of protest,with a simple hunting story implying a profound metaphor for the American social ailments.This thesis argues that Why Are We in Vietnam? is a typical protest literature,expressing protest against and offering reflection of American social evils.Therefore,based on the definition of “protest literature” made by John Stauffer,the professor in the English department of Harvard University,it intends to draw upon the literary approaches of textual analysis,historical and cultural background analysis and philosophical analysis to make a systematic analysis of the theme of protest in the novel.The thesis consists of three parts: the introduction,the body and the conclusion.The main body includes three chapters,including the exploration of the major social ailments,social roots,as well as the writer’s solution in Why Are We in Vietnam?.The first chapter starts from the perspective of “schizophrenia”,and based on the textual analysis of the characters’ conflicting mentality,reveals the typical issues in the postwar American society,such as impulsive violence,dehumanization and loss of self.By representing the contradictory ideas perplexing the characters and the correlated consequences of insanity,Mailer expresses his will to protest against American social evils.The second chapter attempts to interpret Mailer’s diagnose and critique of the roots of “schizophrenia” in American society from the perspectives of American historical tradition,postwar ideology and social culture,to disclose his true targets of protest.The third chapter will associate Mailer’s philosophy of Hipsterism to analyze and reflect his solution for the protagonist to realize salvation.Finally,the thesis concludes: Why Are We in Vietnam? is a typical work of protest literature.Mailer aims at revealing the alienated society’s repression and distortion on the human nature so as to evoke people’s clear awareness of and rebellious consciousness against the sick society.Mailer not only diagnoses and criticizes the deep social problems,but also offers a solution to the social evils.Whether his solution is feasible or not,he offers us profound inspiration and guidance with his reflection on human nature and his emphasis on human moral responsibility.