Abstract

Objectives: This analysis traces the development of select American fiction highlighting the post-war writers particularly related to Norman Mailer. Emphasis is laid on a quest for the archetypal emotions connected with war, power, power through politics and power through sex.

Methods: The analysis of a quest for the archetypes of Norman Mailer’s major fiction was examined especially related to the contemporary American society. This study takes into account Norman Mailer’s background as a writer, his special contribution to the genre of the novels and his place in the history of ideas of his own time in assessing the permanent value of his creative fiction.

Findings: The quest for power through war and sex is examined in The Naked and the Dead. The power through politics in Barbary Shore is also analyzed. The quest for power through sex is studied in TheDeer Parkand inAn American Dream in detail. It also explores Mailer’s techniques of narration, style, characterization and the influences in fixing Mailer’s pre-occupation with the archetypal of emotions of society especially Twentieth Century American society.

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