The Watergate Scandal was one of the most major political scandals that occurred in US history. The evidence that came out during the trial shows that Nixon had his men perform various wire taps on his rivals, beginning the process of impeachment. While impeachment never happened, Nixon did end up resigning from office. The Watergate Scandal brings about many “he said, she said” accounts when evidence was presented. This is something that Thomas Mallon does well in his book.
Watergate: A Novel by Thomas Mallon is a story that perfectly exemplifies the idea of mythistory that we discuss in class. Mallon brings us along for the story of the Watergate scandal, giving us the details and much more. Instead of just giving the straight facts of the entire scandal, Mallon tells a story giving us intimate details on the background of each character in the story. Many of these details may not be completely true or even real at all, but they are put into the story so that the reader is hooked in and enjoys the story. While the author tells the story, he also describes the blatant facts that actually occurred so that the reader learns the important things in history. In this story, Mallon describes the Nixon presidency in a comical way, making the story far more intimate than historians usually are able to make it. Telling the story through seven different characters perspectives, the readers get a wide range of details.
I totally agree, I think that Mallon’s decision to mix fiction with non-fiction was interesting because it presents a complete story that reveals subtle truths behind the Watergate scandal. In a sense, Mallon incorporates mythistory into the novel. Instead of displaying straight facts, Mallon tells a story with fictional characters. As a result the reader is shown subtle truths about the scandal through an intricate storyline.
I think the scandal itself was so complex and intricate that it is impossible to understand everything that unfolded. People remember some aspects of the story better than others and this is another reason for why adding some fictional characters was a smart move on Mallon’s part. By adding in these characters, their perspectives on the scandal could accurately depict the feelings of many Americans both directly involved and in those who were watching the events unfold.
I agree that Mallon does a perfect job in crafting this myth-history about the Watergate scandal. I think that this is the best myth-history we have read in class because it is about a very specific and real event that took place in American history. He added a few fictional characters to make the story more dramatic while maintaining historical accuracy on the important details.
I also really like this book, as it was well combined with history. However, one thing I feel sad about is the general tone in the novel, as everything was described so generally without a clear tone, and everyone in the book looked so clueless.
I think what you bring up regarding the factualness of certain parts of the book is a good debate topic; is it more important that the audience is engaged and understands the overarching themes/”big picture” aspects of historical events, or that they receive and understand every minuet detail but are possibly uninterested in the subject? In the myth history essay we read, there was a discussion of historians’ jobs are to not entirely shellshocked the readers, allowing them to enjoy certain inaccuracies regarding history in order for them to not be deterred from the subject but what about in regards to entertainment?