SAUL BELLOW AS A NOVELIST

Saul Bellow was born in 1915 in Canada to his immigrant parents who moved from Russia to Montreal an year before his birth.

“Bellow is one of the giants of the twentieth century novel.”- Irish Times

His family moved to Chicago when Bellow wa nine years old. This city has often been mentioned in his novel. He went to University of Chicago later Northwestern University. He initially wanted to pursue English but felt English faculty was anti -Jewish. Therefore opted for Sociologyand Anthropology. As a result we find his knowledge of human behaviour significant in his novels.

“Bellow and Bloom inhaled books and ideas the way we breathe air.”- John Podhoretz (Bellow’s friend0

His major works include Dangling Man (1944), The Victim (1947), Adventures of Augie March (1954), Seize the Day (1956), Herzog (1964), Humboldt’s gift (1975), Mr. Scrambler’s Planet (1970). He is the only ovelist to have been awarded with three National Book Award for Fiction in 1954, 1965 and 1971 reapectively.

Characterisation

Characterisation in Bellow’s novels are peculiar. His protagonists are mostly picaresque. They have atypical yet extraordinary characterisations. His noel The Adventures of Augie March was compared to Spanish Classic “Don Quixote”.

The protagonist shows affirmation after facing all the predicaments. For example Tommy Wilhelm of Seize the Day and protagonist of Herzo, they both are living an alienated life and searching for happiness throughout. At the end came out successful.

Autobiographical Tone is often found in Saul Bellows novels. His protagonists reflect his intentions, Chicago is the setting and heroes are mostly Jewish. In Dangling Man the hero waits to be drafted in world war 2 and in Adventures of Augie MArch, Bellow depicted his father’s ordeals and how life was during Great Depression.

“His ability to show how Great Depression felt instead of showing Depression distinguishes him from the rest.”

Individualism and quest for self identity are also his major themes. Writing style of Bellow is often descriptive- he provides minute details. For example in Seize the day, while talking about a normal conversation between Tommy and Dr. Tamkin, he provides minute details in this way:

”…. whose fingers in his pockets were feeling in the little envelops for the Phenaphen Capsules.”- Seize the Day.

He writes in a colloquial tone. He writes about blatant culture and gives historical references. As a modern novelist he considered Modern Age as=Literature as Victim Literature, His protagonist were often Victimized.

The thing which sets him apart from others is the Optimism he gave to his endings.

Tommy for example the protagonist of Seize the Day realizes the futility of materialism after getting so many failures. Therefore he was full of optimism.

Bellow’s novels have mindset different from their contemporaries. They did not contain story rather stream of consciousness was important.

He died in 2005 in Brooklyn.