  the naked and the dead is a 1948 novel by norman mailer. it was based on his experiences with the 112th cavalry regiment during the philippines campaign in world war ii. it was later adapted into a film of the same name in 1958. in 1998, the modern library ranked the naked and the dead 51st on its list of the 100 best english-language novels of the 20th century. ==plot== the novel is divided into four parts: wave, argil and mold, plant and phantom, and wake. within these parts are chorus sections, consisting of play-like dialogue between characters, as well as time machine sections, which give brief histories and flashbacks of individual charactersâ lives. the story takes place on anopopei, a fictional island somewhere in the south pacific. american forces are faced with a campaign to drive out the japanese so that americans can advance into the philippines. the novel itself focuses on the experiences of one platoon, overseen by lieutenant hearn and general cummings. although mailer does not write about the significance or details of the campaign, it is implied that this platoon, like all platoons in the army, is simply just obeying orders, uncertain what those orders might be. ;part one, wave characters are introduced as they wait around for orders. a naval bombardment soon takes place. the men take their places on a boat where they are driven to the shore of a beach. here they fire back and forth at the japanese. hennessey becomes so frightened that he soils in his pants. unthinking, he runs out of his foxhole and is shot to death. part one concludes with this death, which alarms many of the men, since for many soldiers hennesseyâs death is the first comrade death they witness. ;part two, argil and mold the campaign continues and replacements arrive. general cummings and hearn have many discussions. it is evident that cummings has homosexual feelings towards hearn, althoug
1948_novels 20th-century_American_novels Books_by_Norman_Mailer Debut_novels Novels_by_Norman_Mailer Novels_set_in_Oceania Novels_set_in_the_Philippines Novels_set_on_islands Pacific_theatre_of_World_War_II Rinehart_&_Company_books World_War_II_novels