A Psychoanalytic Study Of Wilhelm's Personality In Seize The Day

Saul Bellow is regarded as a representative figure in contemporary American Literature and a vanguard of contemporary fiction in the wake of Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. Seize the day is considered as Bellow's best novel by some critics.Seize the day is about Wilhelm's miserable experience in one day. In his middle forties, Wilhelm quits his job and has no income. Living apart from his wife and two sons, Wilhelm asks his father's help both mentally and financially but his wish is in vain. In order to get money, Wilhelm invests all his remaining money in the stock market under Dr. Tamkin's persuasion. However, he is deceived by Dr. Tamkin and loses all his money. At the end of the novel, Wilhelm cries bitterly at a funeral of a strange Jewish man.Wilhelm has the neurotic personality, with anxiety and the defense mechanisms as the obvious symptom. Firstly, the thesis analyzes the causes of Wilhelm's neurosis from the perspective of Freud's psychoanalysis. Then it talks about the changes of Wilhelm's neurotic personality under Dr. Tamkin's influence.The thesis is composed of five parts.Introduction part gives a brief introduction to Saul Bellow, Seize the Day and the organization of the present thesis.In chapter two, Sigmund Freud's personality structure is introduced: the id, superego, ego, defense mechanisms and finally, the relationship between the personality structure and the levels of awareness, which will be used in the interpretation of the novel.In chapter three, with the employment of Sigmund Freud's theory, the paper explores causes of Wilhelm's neurotic personality. Wilhelm's reckless activities, the feeling of inferiority and guilt as well as the drowning in the money world make him anxious. To escape from the unpleasant feeling, Wilhelm therefore uses unconsciously a series of defense mechanisms in a funny way. Although the defense mechanisms can help Wilhelm protect himself, it prevents him from having a clear picture of him and the surroundings.Chapter four stresses Dr. Tamkin's influence on Wilhelm. Although Dr. Tamkin cheats Wilhelm his last money, he makes the unconscious conscious. His theory of two souls helps Wilhelm estimate himself; the avocation of "here and new" becomes the guide of the ego. Wilhelm's crying in the strange funeral indicates the farewell to the pretender soul. And the tear implicates he is on the way to an integral personality.Then comes the conclusion. Psychoanalytic analysis of Seize the Day has practical values, which contribute to a thorough comprehension of the novel. Through analyzing the novel, we know how to live in the world.