From Sin To Salvation: Norman Mailer’s Protagonists’ Survival And Evolution
Abstract
American fiction has well captured and critiqued the ethos and essence of American scenario in both pre-war and post-war periods. Survival and evolution have been the pivotal concern of American novelists around which fiction of many a decades revolves. The major post-war novelists like Saul Bellow, Ralph Emerson and Joseph Heller have devised Strategies of Survival and have conveyed their vision through their protagonists. Norman Mailer’s avowed aim is “to bring about a revolution in the consciousness of our time”.This paper explores his ultimate vision and philosophy of Survival and Evolution as revealed in the acts and ideas of his fictional protagonists. The paper also underlines the contribution of Mailer’s vision to American fiction, to American society and to expanded global scenario.
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