From Distortion To Rationality: On Herzog's Transformation Of Values

Saul Bellow, a Jewish American writer, is regarded as the leading figure in Post-World War II American literary arena after Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. He has received a number of awards like Noble Prize for Literature, National Book Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for his humanistic understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture. Among his numerous works, Herzog is Bellow's most acclaimed novel portraying an alienated intellectual who meets with a series of failures in life, feels lonely and depressed and tries hard to seek a foothold in life.Critics have done plenty of researches on alienation of Herzog and reached a consensus that after several days of spiritual and mental odyssey, Herzog finally reconciles with reality and attains peace and stability in life. As for the reason of the change of Herzog's life, there are some studies on social elements, but few touches upon subjective factors of the protagonist. Focusing on the protagonist's subjective shortcomings and his personal efforts, the present thesis traces Herzog's transformation of values from distortion to rationality through self-examination and salvation of love and nature in the light of post-colonialism and transcendentalism.First, Herzog's distortion of values is manifested in terms of perplexity of identity, prejudice against women and over-reliance on knowledge and thinking. Caught between American and Jewish culture, Herzog gets perplexed about his identity and sets his American and Jewish identity against each other. Besides, due to traditional Jewish influence, Herzog has a strong sense of male supremacy which leads to his prejudice against women. In addition, too much emphasis on knowledge and thinking is reflected in his way of analyzing and solving problems.Next, Herzog's self-examination is illustrated after the analysis of his futile escape to friends, sweet memory and theoretical thinking. With introspection of his relationship with others and his responsibility for the family, Herzog gradually realizes his distortion of values and determines to get rid of it.Then, Herzog's return to rationality is expounded with the illustration of Herzog's peaceful acceptance of the salvation of love and nature. Immersed in love and nature, Herzog finally restores his mental order, abandons hatred and cuts off over-reliance on knowledge and thinking.Finally, by summarizing the analysis, a conclusion is drawn that there is a clear path of Herzog's transformation of values i.e. from distortion through self-examination and salvation to rationality. Thus, the present author argues that it is inadequate to put all the blame on social factors upon analyzing the reason for Herzog's suffering. Subjective factors and personal efforts might not be underestimated in the study of Herzog.