Henderson The Rain King: Persevering Pursuer Of The Existence Value

As one of the writers in postwar America, Saul Bellow wins numerous honors including the most influential award– the Nobel Prize for the literature. He has a unique style as his deep perception of the American society and his Jewish origin. Modern man's existential dilemma is depicted in Bellow's works such as Henderson the Rain King, in which modern man's spiritual crisis is clearly shown. This thesis focuses on Henderson's perseverant pursuit of existence value in modern society, who has spiritual problems.This thesis attempts to interpret Henderson the Rain king from the perspective of existentialism. And it consists of three chapters.In Chapter One, the author analyzes the standard of assessing the existence value from following aspects, the balance between self-nature and living environment, the satisfaction of both spiritual and material needs and the constant search for truth.In Chapter Two, the author discusses the ways to pursue the existence value. Henderson combines the self-seeking and social needs, obtains the achievement from switching history and reality and expresses love towards others.Chapter Three delves into the reasons why Henderson finally becomes a successful pursuer of the existence value. It results from his quest for the spiritual home, his insight into the true meaning of life and the correct understanding towards deathThe conclusion of this thesis is reached based upon the three chapters above. Henderson the Rain King is a novel that depicts Henderson's mental suffering to reveal the modern man's spiritual crisis, especially I want in his inner world. The interpretation of Henderson the Rain King in this thesis is chiefly from the angle of the persevering pursuit of the existence value and the methods of pursuing the meaning of existence. The real remedy is spiritual quest, to reestablish his faith in the modern world. In this sense, Henderson is a persevering pursuer of the existence value.