From Alienation To Self-realization-a Spiritual Ecological Interpretation Of Herzog

Saul Bellow is an author whose name is prominent in the list of significant twentieth centurywriters, who can be mentioned in the same breath as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. Herzog,Bellow’s sixth novel, is considered as one of his most representative works.Herzog introduces us Herzog’s miserable inward and outward journey within five days. By meansof profound moral significance, minute psychological analysis and unique narrative techniques, Herzog,the novel, successfully portrays an intellectual in 1960’s America. Confronted with money-orientedsociety, Herzog goes through the betrayal of his wife and friends as well as social desertion. He loses hisspiritual pillow, becoming a dangling man.The thesis examines the protagonist’s alienation and self-realization in Herzog. Since Saul Bellowin Herzog devotes himself to the establishment of an authentic self and the basic reasons for socialcommitment, the research approach of this thesis is grounded on the theory of spiritual ecology.The thesis consists of five parts.Introduction part briefly introduces us the objectives and significance of the study, literature reviewof Herzog, Herzog’s plot and generalizes the theory of spiritual ecology.Chapter two mainly discusses Herzog’s imbalance of spiritual ecology from the three aspects:spiritual vacuum, the incompetence of behavior and fetishism of one’s heart, which are theembodiments of Herzog’s alienation.Chapter three gives a thorough analysis and interpretation of Herzog’s spiritual alienation with theaid of spiritual ecology theory. Herzog’s alienation has a concentrated reflection in his alienation withthe society, his alienation with“reality instructors”around him and his self-alienation. Both the socialfactors and his own personal factors contribute to his anxiety and his isolation. The distorted outsideworld serves as a backdrop which forces Herzog to escape. The“reality instructors”advising andpointing the way to self-truth have proved to be a disaster for him. The three kinds of alienation lead toHerzog’s spiritual alienation: weakness, loneliness, and emptiness.Chapter four examines Herzog’s spiritual exploration from his alienation to self-realization.Through reflection and self-examination of his motives and actions, he learns to forge humancommunities based on love and to accept his limitations and social ulcers. It is the call of love, the release of letters, and fresh nature that stir him to the real self-realization.The last part, the conclusion restates the main idea of the whole thesis and intends to call modernpeople who have the same predicament as Herzog to seek for life meanings and live in harmony withthe nature and society. The readers will see this spiritual ecological analysis of Herzog has a practicalsignificance, which sets an example for us to understand how to live in the world.