Victimization And Redemption The Analysis Of The Victim From The Perspective Of Space

Saul Bellow (1995~2005), indisputably one of the most influential writers incontemporary American literature, is considered as successor to great masters asErnest Hemingway and William Faulkner. Good at depicting the existential states ofpeople in the modern society and leading them to find solutions to existentialproblems, he was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in1976“for the humanunderstanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in hiswork” and numerous other well-renowned awards.”The Victim, one of Bellow’s early works, reveals the destinies and thepredicaments people face in modern society and solutions to the predicaments. Theprotagonist, Asa Leventhal is a middle-aged Jew. His wife is away, which aggravateshis already rampant anxiety and depression. Moreover, he is caught up with a severefamily crisis, nephew’s fatal disease and an unaccounted accusation from Allbee, analmost stranger. But finally through his painful struggle, he achieves self-redemption.Applying the space theory, this thesis is devoted to exploring the victim’svictimization and self-redemption in three spaces, namely physical, social and mentalspace respectively.This thesis is made up of an introduction, three body chapters and aconclusion.Introduction provides an overview of Bellow and his works, related literaryreviews from home and abroad, introduces the space theory and space theory inliterary criticism, and presents the layout of the thesis. Chapter one starts out toexplore the victimization from the physical space, including New York, the city forall the things to happen, houses for people to dwell in, and the important andrepeated images which stand for various connotations. Chapter Two analyzes thesocial factors for Asa’s victimization, with family, work and anti-Semitism included.Chapter Three looks into the mental space of the protagonist, including his self-alienation, self-awakening, and finally self-redemption. The last part draws allthe analysis to the conclusion of the theme, reaffirming Bellow’s care for all humanbeings. He illustrates modern people’s problems vividly, explores the solutions to thepredicaments, and pictures a promising future for human beings.