| Saul Bellow, whose status can be compared with that of Hemingway and Faulkner, is a literary giant with humanistic concern. He focuses on the contemporaries'fate. His works are imbued with sorrow for the culture of contemporary America and the whole human race. Seize the Day is one of Saul Bellow's most influential novels, which describes America's present situation through surveying the protagonist's painful mental experience in one day.This thesis attempts to explore the theme of escape represented in Seize the Day. It tends to solve the following three problems from cultural perspective by means of textual analysis. Firstly, how does the author of the novel describe Tommy Wilhelm's external environment to reveal indifferent human feelings? Secondly, how is Tommy Wilhelm's internal anxiety imposed by particular environment presented? Thirdly, how does the author vaguely find a way out for Tommy Wilhelm?The thesis analyzes a series of merciless words and deeds of people around Tommy Wilhelm, and indicates that external forces have created severe spiritual burden for the protagonist. Unable to achieve material success, Tommy Wilhelm escapes from reality and becomes alienated. Besides, the novel depicts numerous experiences encountered by Tommy Wilhelm, such as failure of career, breach of marriage and chaos of family, all of which makes Tommy Wilhelm endure psychological torture of loss of faith and arouse his sense of loneliness, depression and helplessness. What's more, Tommy Wilhelm's anguished quest and spellbound introspection have reflected his escape complex. Saul Bellow pushes Tommy Wilhelm to a stranger's funeral, and then the protagonist becomes aware of the inescapable fate of contemporaries. Bellow's depiction of Tommy Wilhelm shares realistic value of research. Nowadays, social development has resulted in numerous social contradictions and led to crisis of money worship. It is significant for people to discuss the ultimate meaning of life and pursue the lost spiritual homeland. |
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