Book contents
- Norman Mailer in Context
- Norman Mailer in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- A Note on References and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Literary Influences
- Part II Form and Genre
- Part III Political Contexts
- Chapter 11 Marxism and Malaquais
- Chapter 12 JFK and Political Heroism
- Chapter 13 The Vietnam War
- Chapter 14 1968 Political Conventions
- Chapter 15 Left Conservatism
- Part IV Philosophical and Cultural Contexts
- Part V Gender and Sexuality
- Part VI Profiles and Literary Biographies
- Part VII Mailer’s Legacy
- Primary Bibliography
- Selected Secondary Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 12 - JFK and Political Heroism
from Part III - Political Contexts
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2021
Edited by
Book contents
- Norman Mailer in Context
- Norman Mailer in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- A Note on References and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Literary Influences
- Part II Form and Genre
- Part III Political Contexts
- Chapter 11 Marxism and Malaquais
- Chapter 12 JFK and Political Heroism
- Chapter 13 The Vietnam War
- Chapter 14 1968 Political Conventions
- Chapter 15 Left Conservatism
- Part IV Philosophical and Cultural Contexts
- Part V Gender and Sexuality
- Part VI Profiles and Literary Biographies
- Part VII Mailer’s Legacy
- Primary Bibliography
- Selected Secondary Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In 1960, Mailer published his famous essay on JFK, “Superman Comes to the Supermarket,” a defining and significant contribution to New Journalism. The essay frames JFK as a kind of existential hero and a beacon of hope for America’s future, and is representative of the lasting influence Kennedy had on Mailer’s political views and conceptions of America, the American Dream, and American masculinity. Much of The Presidential Papers, a miscellany of writings published in 1964, is also devoted to the Kennedys, and the figure of JFK haunts more than one of Mailer’s later works as well.
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- Information
- Norman Mailer in Context , pp. 138 - 147Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021