his mother supports Cummings' identity, his father refuses to have a son who is homosexual and thus sends him to military school. This portages the notion of the Army being only for "real men". However, there were a lot of homosexual men who were soldiers during WWII and as Allan Bérubé illustrates in Coming Out Under Fire: History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two, they were often seen as trusted and respected soldiers and medics. While in the Army, it is clear Cummings developed romantic feelings towards Hearn and sexually desired him. Through Cummings, Mailer illustrates his beliefs of homosexuality. Although Mailer believes being homosexual is evil, it is interesting he had the general be the homosexual character in the novel, especially since he depicts the general as being a powerful figure who is a good leader. Mailer also includes homosexual characters in his other works as well, such as in The Deer Park. Mailer directly addresses this theme and his beliefs of homosexuality in "The Homosexual Villain" stating he saw homosexuals as evil and always depicted them as the villain in his works but realized they were humans. Mailer utilizes the trope that men coded as homosexual are villains, repressed, and effeminate. Brotherhood: The Naked and the Dead depicts the bonds of brotherhood during World War II, particularly examining the relationships among platoons. During World War II, soldiers developed strong friendships to which civilians could not relate. Croft expresses his feelings of brotherhood and tells his comrades, “You’re all good guys. You’re all chicken, and you’re all yellow, but you’re good guys. They ain’t a goddam thing wrong with you.” Mailer's use of Croft in this scene emphasizes the unilateral sentiment and necessity of brotherhood during wartime. The theme recurs in Part III when Brown, Goldstein, Ridges, and Stanley attempt to carry the wounded Wilson back to camp. Despite the physical strains, the men persisted in order to save Wilson. The brotherhood of the platoon is also illustrated by the group's reactions to the deaths of Hearn and Roth. New to the platoon, Hearn, when he was killed by Japanese soldiers, the platoon stood shocked for a couple of seconds but quickly moved on under the continued leadership of Croft. However, when in the wake of Roth's death, "the platoon was shattered. For ten minutes they huddled together on the shelf, too stricken, too terrified, to