An American Dream Essay, Research Paper

In almost every genre of literature there is the classic

antagonist, and the classic protagonist. When examining these

characters, there are certain guidelines which authors

follow. However, there are times in literature when the

classic guidelines are broken, and a new prototype emerges.

Contemporary writer Norman Mailer broke the mold of the classic

character(s) when writing the novel, An American Dream. In An

American Dream, there is no set protagonist or antagonist. In

fact, Mailer has taken these two separate identities and merged

them into one character. The product is the main character of

the novel, Steven Rojack. Throughout the novel the reader

isn^t sure if they want him to succeed, or fail. This is due to

Rojack^s ever-changing personality. He first seems like the

perfect man, a decorated war hero who knows all the right

people. However, shortly after this impression is made another

is formed. He murders his wife in cold blood and lies to the

police, claimi! ng she committed suicide. As the novel

continues however, Rojack realizes the horror of his crime and even

confesses what he has done to a woman he loves. Due to the

realization of his crime, he is redeemed in the eye of the reader.

From this point on, the reader wants Rojack to succeed. However,

before final judgement can be passed, it is imperative that Rojack^s

entire character be explored.

Steven Rojack is first introduced as a prominent man in society

who becomes recognized due to his decoration in military

service. Through this service he became close with many famous

politicians, Jack Kennedy being one. It is through Jack that

Rojack meets his first wife, Deborah, a woman who he describes

^would be bored with a diamond as big as the Ritz^ (1) After

serving a term in Congress, he and Deborah marry.

Unfortunately, the relationship they have is one in which

Deborah has full control. As he continues to describe the

relationship with his wife it is often filled with bitter

memories. He remembers going to parties where she would

compare his worth to that of another man^s. It is from this

that a bitter hatred stems towards Deborah. Finally, after

seven years of marriage, they separate. However, after the

separation, Deborah^s needs are still covered by Steven, who is

now a college professor and the host of a popular TV show. In

addition to this Deborah main! tains a close contact with him,

seeing him whenever she desires. She relishes the thought of having

control over him, and he realizes this. It is because of this that

Rojack feels the way he does about her. So I hated her, yes indeed I

did, but my hatred was a cage which wired my love, and I did not know

if I had the force to find my way free. Marriage to her was the

armature of my ego; remove the armature and I might topple like clay.

(23) At this point in the novel Rojack comes across as an egocentric

man with the potential to have an extreme temper. Many times

throughout the beginning of the novel, the reader may questions his

sanity due to the fact that he often thinks about many morbid issues.

As a result of this it can be said that Rojack is in conflict with

himself. Furthermore, because of this, problems arise with others.

Therefore it can be said that he is his own antagonist. After leaving

a party that was held at his close friend^s house, Rojack once again

feels alone and bitter. While standing outside on the balcony he

contemplates what would happen if he were to jump. Shortly after this

he decides to leave. As he walks home in the pouring rain he stops at

a pay phone feeling the need to call Deborah. During their

conversation, Deborah insists that Steven come over. Although his

better judgement tells him not to go, he goes anyway. As he enters

Deborah^s room, he can see her lying on her bed with a bottle of rum

close by. The moment she sees him enter she begins to insult him. As

the conversation continues, Steven becomes more and more bold in

responding to Deborah^s insults. The tension begins to escalate, thus

flaring both of their tempers. Suddenly, Rojack slaps Deborah across

the face. In turn, Deborah rises from the bed and charges Steven,

plunging her head into his abdomen. As the fight continues, Steven

finally gets the upper h! and and Deborah surrenders. However, as he

removes his hand from her head, her body falls on the ground; she is

dead. I knelt to turn her over. Her body made some rustling sound of

protest, a muted whisper. She was bad in death. A beast stared back

at me. Her teeth showed, the point of light in her eye was violent,

and her mouth was open. (44)

It is at this moment that Rojack becomes a despicable,

cold-blooded murderer. Immediately after the murder he begins

to question whether or not he is truly evil. Unable to come up

with an answer at the time, he slips downstairs where he makes

love to his wife^s German butler, a woman named Ruta. Shortly

after this escapade, Steven explains to Ruta that Deborah

committed suicide by jumping out the window. When the police

arrive to take a look at the scene, he tells them the same. He

explains to the police that Deborah had a fascination with

death, and that she often spoke of it. Furthermore, he also

said that Deborah had convinced herself that she had a rare

form of cancer. When the police wrap up their interrogation of

Rojack, they go outside to examine the body. As Rojack approaches, he

notices a tall, blonde woman out of the corner of his eye. He feels

drawn to her classic, small town girl appearance. As he strikes up a

conversation with her, Police Chief Roberts informs him to get in the

squad car because he needs to identify the body at the morgue. On the

way he talks with the police officers. During this conversation it is

apparent that the cops are fully aware that this wasn^t a suicide.

However, they will not press charges until they feel the need because

they like him. A few minutes later they arrive at the morgue.

Walking in to the morgue, Rojack feels a sense of disgust over what he

did. Seeing Deborah^s body he realizes that no matter how badly

things were between them, she never deserved to die. Whatever Deborah

would deserve, that morgue was not the place for her. I had a reverie

of my own death then, and my soul was trying to lift and loose itself

of the body which has died. I felt guilty for the first time. It was

a crime to have pushed Deborah to the morgue. (77)

At this point Rojack begins to make the transition between evil and

good. He finally realized the heinous nature of his crime, and

because of this realization he can be redeemed in the eye of the

reader.

Shortly after the police interrogation ends, Rojack again comes

in contact with the tall blonde. He learns that her name is

Cherry and that she is a singer in a small cabaret downtown.

After being released by the police, he decides to go downtown

to see her perform. He is drawn to her for unknown reasons,

and this confuses him. He hasn^t felt this strongly for a

woman since the time he first met Deborah. Walking into the

cabaret he hears Cherry^s voice. When the set is finished,

Cherry comes over and begins to talk with him. A few moments

later they begin to kiss. Cherry then invites Rojack to her

apartment. Once they arrive at the apartment they begin to

talk about their past lives. Although a relationship is

forming, a strong friendship is also in the making. Rojack

stays the night, and leaves early the next morning after

receiving a message that Deborah^s father is in town and that

he wants to meet with Rojack. When Rojack returns to his

house, he begins to ma! ke phone calls to old friends

inquiring why Oswald Kelly, Deborah^s father, wants to meet with him.

It is during one of these conversations that Rojack learns that Deborah

was involved in high profile cases of espionage. Not knowing whether

to rejoice or to cringe in fear, he decides to keep this secret to

himself.

Later on that day, Rojack returns back to Cherry^s apartment,

and once again they begin to talk about their past. He realizes

that when he is with Cherry, he feels safe. Because of this

feeling he tells the truth when confronted about the crime.

^^Steve?^^ asked Cherry. ^Did you kill your wife?^ He calmly

responded, ^yes.^^ (168) After talking, Cherry tells Rojack

that she loves him, and that everything will be ok. With this,

Rojack leaves to meet Oswald Kelly. In the cab many fears come

into Rojack^s head. He is fully aware of the powerful

connections that Oswald Kelly has with the Mafia. Finally, he

reaches the hotel and Kelly^s room. Walking in, he has the

opportunity to speak with his stepdaughter whom he has not seen

in months. However, this conversation only lasts a few

minutes, because he knows that he must face Kelly. When Kelly

first sees Rojack; he greets him with a warm hug. He starts to speak

of Deborah and of her involvement with foreign spies. He also tells

Rojack that he ordered to police to stop the investigation. After a

while however, the conversation begins to get to its point. As the two

walk out to the balcony Rojack is hit with the question of his

involvement in Deborah^s death. Unable to lie, he admits the truth.

As a result of this, Kelly informs him that he will not turn him in.

However, Kelly states that in order to survive he must walk around the

edges of the hotel from the last floor. If he survives this, he will

be able to walk away. It is at this moment that Rojack makes the

transition into the protagonist.

As Rojack carefully steps on the edge of the balcony, he

realizes the importance of every step. While walking he begins

to think about everything he is done. Finally, he arrives at

his destination, but he doesn^t stop. Instead, he attempts to

walk around the perimeter of the building once again to redeem

himself. However, Kelly attempts to push him down, but fails.

After a brief struggle, Rojack walks out of the hotel unharmed,

and redeemed. In conclusion, Steven Rojack is a very complex

character who underwent a transition from being his own

antagonist to being a protagonist. He was able to commit the

perfect crime, and still earn forgiveness. It is easy to say

that Steven Rojack is the true poster-boy for ^an American

dream.^