The Turner Diaries offers truly fascinating, though incredibly difficult to imagine, insight into the dissociated and dualistic mind of a paranoid, fundamentalist. From the beginning of the novel it is evident that religious thought is working underneath what looks like an entirely politically themed plot. As I neared the end of the first section of the novel, I was actually very surprised at how completely religious the book began to sound. As Earl becomes more immersed in his role for the Organization we see the story shift from that of an impassioned bigot into the story of a fundamentalist soldier for the “army of God,” in his case the “army” for the Organization/Order.
I think it’s key that the novel is set up as a journal. The narrow framework serves as a good reflection of the isolated and “otherized” mind of a paranoid fundamentalist. The deep, personal knowledge we have of Earl allows us to see very clearly how a particular passion for a certain mindset can move into radical and violent action to achieve the realization of the ideals of that mindset. In the early journal entries I can’t say I liked Earl, but his radicalism extended to racism and a love for guns, not light passions to harbor, but not nearly as extreme as his expressions of pure hatred and disgust at “others” later in the novel. Despite his racism at first, his concerns about being controlled by the government seem like those of any extreme political activist. I felt, though, that as he moved forward his expression of downright disgust for people who are “impure” or corrupted by the liberal “disease” intensified and became more and more reminiscent of a prophetic warning. In fact, “Liberalism” and the System are repeatedly referenced in relation to sickness, pestilence, disease and infection, reflective of Revelation-esque plagues that appear as retributive punishment for the impure and non-believers.
Earl reveals clues from the very beginning of the novel that he takes his role for the Organization just as seriously as a fundamentalist Christian might take their role in spreading God’s message. His “truth” is not the same as the Christian truth, but his belief that the Organization possesses THE truth evidences how Earl can be characterized within the same realm of fundamentalist religious “spokesmen.” He says, “Only by making our beliefs into a living faith which guides us from day to day can we maintain the moral strength to overcome the obstacles and hardships which lie ahead”(9). His belief in the message of the Organization is his religion, his faith.
We see evidence of post-apocalypse thinking when Earl acknowledges that his life has changed to the point that nothing will ever be the same (11). He knows that the world has “ended” because of the imposed corruption of the System, but it his duty to work to help the Organization create a new world, a “New Jerusalem.”
His paranoia appears more and more as the novel goes on, “The System is going all-out to get us”(23). He also repeatedly references how the System is using the media to manipulate the entire general population to conspire against the Organization. Earl shows us in these paranoid remarks that he feels that he and the other members of the Organization are entirely separate from all “others.” His paranoia motivates his active participation in the Organization’s plots, and consequently moves him into necessary dissociation. After he executes the plan to bomb the FBI building he mentions, “we gaped with a mixture of horror and elation at the devastation,”(40) suggesting a movement away from remorse into feelings of righteousness as one of the soldiers leading the world to the way of the “truth.” Shortly after he acknowledges the necessity to carry out violent actions and dissociate from guilt as his “responsibility,” (42) spoken like a true fundamentalist paranoid.
His increased expression of his actions being executed out of “need” and “responsibility” demonstrate that Earl feels like what he is doing is right, it is the only way to achieve utopia and bring the world out of the horrific state it is in. His radicalism, too becomes more and more evident and increasingly wide-spread. Towards the end of this first portion of the novel (pp. 1-74) Earl is reborn. His character becomes most obvioulsy a reflection of a Fundamentalist Christian during his initiation into the Order. After reading the Book he claims, “We are truly the instruments of God in the fulfillment of His Grand Design”(71). At this moment, we realize this is a very different novel than we may have thought. We move from allusions of Biblical/spiritual influence into direct reference to messages within Revelation and The Bible. It is revealed that the Order is working to achieve the Cause. I felt that perhaps the symbolic links to Christianity were a little overdone in this section, but I suppose this isn’t a very subtle work of literature to begin with.
It is truly fascinating to have a work of fiction that so accurately reflects the conditions Strozier talks about in his article. Though the absolute radicalism is hard to imagine, it is not impossible. While I do think some moments in The Turner Diaries are a little overstated, so far it’s been an exciting way to look at a modern application of apocalyptic thought. I’m curious to see how things progress, and the way religion, now that it has been directly introduced, influences the sequence of events moving forward.
