In the Deserts of the Heart

The Executioner's Song

Authors

  • Raymond M. Vince Author

Keywords:

The Executioner's Song, American identity, capital punishment, Gary Gilmore, American exceptionalism, American Dream, violence and justice, myth and landscape

Abstract

The desert setting in The Executioner’s Song is complex. There is the contrast between western and eastern voices—in part the divide between the faith of the desert and the skepticism of the city. The Utah desert is integral to the narrative because it began as Gary Gilmore’s Mormon story. In a more mythical sense, the desert is a mindscape integral to the larger story of America itself, to the American Dream. There are darker aspects to that mindscape. Desert draws on the biblical wilderness—the world East of Eden—and for Mailer, setting is clearly not accidental.

Author Biography

  • Raymond M. Vince

    Raymond M. Vince has taught History of Science, Religion, Writing, & American Literature for over twenty years at Richmond College, University of Tampa, USF, Eckerd College, & HCC. He has published a book, War, Heroism, and Narrative (VDM 2008), a chapter on William Morris in Arthurian Writers (2008), and articles in The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review (2006) and The Mailer Review (2009 & 2010). He earned graduate degrees in Theology, Literature, and Logic & Scientific Method, and a PhD in English Literature.

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Published

2026-10-10

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2014): Future Bound

Section

Articles