Contemporary American Literature

Course 1_1
2
nd
Year American Studies
3
rd
Year English minor
Spring Semester 2011
Profdr !odica "ihaila
Saul Bellow (1915-2005)
Saul #ello$ %orn in Canada of parents recently emigrated from !ussia
&gro$s up in Chicago during the 30's (escapes the naturalism of the era)
&%rings a strong sense of the traditional European no*el + #al,ac- .ic/ens- .ostoie*s/i
&a novelist of ideas (read $idely in philosophy- history- sociology 0 anthropology)
& his no*els descri%e the city + ur%an American life 1gangsters
madmen
carna*ales2ue of the ur%an scene
& themes1 the archetypal Am themes1
1 3.E4535Y (6e$ish American) & & displacement ( e7ile- failure to get
assimilated- acculturation (no cosmopolitanism )
2 5he American .ream &&success- po$er- $ealth8 se7 0 health
3 9umanism + human compassion (re:ects the ;aste Land outloo/ +Confident in
spiritual re%irth + see 5ommy ;ilhelm in the end)
& moral triumph (traditional regeneration)
& characters1 6e$ish- conscious of their ancient heritage
&the middle&age American 6e$ see/ing a ne$ consciousness of himself
&sensiti*e- romantic humanists (9er,og and 9um%old) trying to come to
terms $ith a cynical reality
&central quest1 & ho$ man may still sur*i*e as a creature fully possessed of his humanity
!e:ects the ;asteland outloo/ #elie*es in spiritual re%irth (9enderson- 5ommy ;ilhelm
(citat Sei,e< sfirsit)&
&is typically comic1 the see/ing hero (inner innocence) suffering- laughing-
al$ays physically or spirituality on the mo*e assumes the role of the neo&picares2ue
& language1 elements of the Yiddish oral tradition
& conscience in the midst of flu7
& narrative technique1 &the cofessional mode of auto%iography- :ournal or letter
& use of humour to humani,e failure
& the grotes2ue&5= 9>"A43?E @A3L>!E
&%lurring of genres (hy%ridi,ation- mi7ture of genres( 9enderson)
& the neo picares2ue mode
;or/s1
&.angling "an (1ABA) + Caf/a 0 .ostoie*s/i
&5he Dictim (1ABE)
1
& 5he Ad*entures of Angie "arch (1AF3)
& Sei,e the .ay (1AFG) ;ilhelm 5ommy (Adler)
& 9enderson the !ain Cing (1AFH) + a romance- a 2uest through Africa
& 9er,og (1AGB) + a 2uasi&epistolary no*el
& "r Sammler's Planet (1AE0)
& 9um%oldt's Iift (1AEF) + Pulit,er Pri,e
& .ean's .ecem%er (1AH2)
& 9im $ith 9is @oot in 9is "outh 0 =ther Stories (1AHB)
<
Something to !emem%er "e #y (1AA1)
Ravenstein (2000)
Collected Stories (2001)
=7ford Companion
Bellows wor
3n the first 2 no*els J Caf/a & li/e atmosphere
Dangling Man (1ABB) & psychological study of a demorali,ed dangling man $ithout
purpose- $aiting to %e drafted into the army
The Victim (1ABE) & the agoni,ing- e2ui*ocal relation 6e$ and gentile 5he intense
psychological %attle %et$een the 6e$ Asa Le*enthal and his Kdou%leK the K*ictimK
literature e7istentialist 5he techni2ue of the dou%le from .ostoie*s/iLs The eternal
Husband
The Adventure of A.M. (1AF3) & $on a 4ational #oo/ A$ard
& treats the picares2ue ad*entures of a young Chicago 6e$
Seize the Day (1AFG)& dar/ comedy- a KloserK spiritually re%orn at the end of the
no*el
Henderson the Rain ing (1AFA) + A hy%rid of genres .ar/ comedy Picares2ue
narrati*e Lyrical meditation 5ragi&comedy !omance
Eugene 9enderson an intense midlle&age Conneticut millionaire $hose inner urge for
fulfillment of self (3 $ant- 3 $ant) dri*es him to primiti*e Africa
& a hy%rid of genres
& dar/ comedy
& picares2ue narrati*e
& lyrical meditation
& tragi&comedy
& romance
& a sym%olic tragi&comedy & fantastic e7perience
& spiritual re%irth depends upon employing the
po$ers of the imagination
Herzog (1AGB) & re*elation of the life of a midle&aged 6e$ish intellectual
& in*ol*ement $ith & 2 $i*es M other $omen
& his children
& a friend $ho %etrays him
2
&his career of teaching and $riting
& he is led through neuroses almost to suicide
& end1Kpretty $ell satisfied to %e- to %e :ust as it is $illedK
9er,og and 9um%old J 2 dar/ly comic no*els depicting the struggle of his sensiti*e
romantic humanists to come to terms $ith cynical reality 5hey finally re:ect the
$asteland outloo/
Mr. Sammler!s "lanet (1AGA) & a ficti*e criti2ue of modern society as seen %y a
sur*i*or of a 4a,i concetration camp (theme of the 9olocaust)
Humboldt!s #ift (1AEF) & depicts a crisis in the life of the narrator that is resol*ed %y
his friend- the poet 9um%oldt N Charlie Citrine
&canni%alism & a recurrent metaphor Humboldt's Gift (19!5) - "ulit#er
& the saga of Charlie Citrine %right- am%itious- $isher literary success from
Chicago comes to Ireen$hich Dillage
& friend of the *isionary poet Don 9um%oldt @leisher (.elmore Sch$art, dies
alone- poor 0 mad- %ut continues to affect the life of .)
& $isdom 0 folly
Citrine $ins 2 Pulit,ers & for a play
O & for a %iography
an honorary a$ard from the @rench go*ernment
& financial difficulties in rel $ith his greedy di*orced $ife
his *oluptuous girl&friend (!enata)
!onald (!inaldo) Conta%ile & his $ife $rites a dissertation on @leisher
pursues him from information
& sa*ed %y money from the popular film $hose script $ritten %y 9um%oldt 0
Charlie is a comedy a%out canni%alism & a recurrent metaphor in #ello$Ls no*els
=ther $or/s %y #ello$1
The Dean's December (19$2) & protagonsit & auto%iographic Al%ert Corde & dean of
men at a Chicago college "inna & astronomer
%im with his foot in %is &outh and 'ther Stories (19$()
&ore )ie of %earth*rea (19$!)
+ ,heft (19$9)
,he Bellarosa -onnection (19$9)
Something to .emem*er &e B/ (1991)
.avenstein 2000
Collected stories (2001)
Saul Bellow0 Sei#e the da/ (1951)
& the essence of human e7perience
& #ello$ tries to create for America Pthe uncreated conscienceQ of modern man
5ommy ;ilhelm (BB) (former ;il/y Adler)
&4ortheastern sales representati*e for !o:a7 Corporation (manufacturing children's
furniture)
& left them $hen they $anted him to part his territory $ith a son&in&la$
3
& a loserR a failed %usinessman tries to hide his feelings of inade2uacy
&his life a failure + series of Pmista/esQR left college in his sophomore year and $ent to
9olly$ood to %ecome an actor + no good 8 American .ream of 9olly$ood
&parted from his $ife "argaret 0 his 2 sons she $on't gi*e him a di*orced ($ants to
marry =li*e)
& li*es in 9otel Iloriana
& failure $ith1 $omen- :o%s- commodities mar/et
"eets1
.r 5am/in (psychiatrist + dou%tful character) imaginati*e- speculati*e
& is e*erything that ;ilhelm is not
& helps him disco*er his true nature
& a s$indler + ta/es ;ilhelm's money (in*ests it in lard 0 rye)
.r Adler + respectful- has amoney and respects it 9is opinions a%out his son according
to his success in ma/ing money Stands for the esta%lisment + pu%lic
standards of %eha*iour 0 *aluation
Structure0
& #eginning1
"o*ement of descent (; comes do$n %y ele*ator)
&End1
5he funeral + ; + a stranger + the only person to cry at the funeral9e contemplates his
o$n enstragement in death
9ell + mentioned se*eral times
Sym%olism1 & %irds & imagination
& pradatory
& %irds&city
& $ater + the day
All the staples of American ci*ili,ation1
& money & success
& human contact and affection (relationship son&father- hus%and&$ife)
& dou%le nature of indi*idual1 soul + its contradictorynature
& fear of failure that plagues Am society
p101 !e,umat %rilliant no*ella N e7cellence 0 %re*ity)
B