Albert Corde As A Public Intellectual

Saul Bellow (1915-2005) was one of the most important writers in America afterErnest Hemingway and William Faulkner. Most of Bellow's protagonists are intellectuals,the researches on whom have become more and more popular in recent years. In his novelsBellow reveals intellectuals' impotence and persistence in post-modern society in whichknowledge has been high-specialized, and culture has been high-commercialized. Thisthesis, based on the theory of Edward W. Said and other remarks on public intellectuals,makes an analysis of the public intellectual image of Bellow's protagonist Albert Corde inThe Dean's December.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One provides a brief introduction to SaulBellow and The Dean's December, a literature review of Bellow's work, the significance ofthe study, the major discussions about intellectuals and Edward Said's theory of theintellectual. Chapter Two explores the "amateurism" in Corde. Whether he is a journalist ora professor or a dean, he pays much attention to the things beyond his own fields, which, inSaid's point of view, is necessary for an intellectual and which is a necessary attribute of apublic intellectual. Chaper Three discusses Corde as a Saidian exile intellectual. Corde hasno real experience of exile, but he is an outsider of the mainstream society. His trip toRomania bestows him with double perspective. It is his identity as an exile intellectual andan outsider that enables Corde to keep independent, thus having the courage to say no tothe power. Chapter four analyzes Corde's image as a spokesman for unprivileged peopleand an intellectual with moral conscience. Chapter five is a conclusion of the thesis.Through Corde in The Dean's December, Bellow reveals his expectation for theintellectuals in the post-modern society where knowledge is specialized, culture iscontrolled by business: intellectual should go to the public and become a public intellectualwith moral conscience and social responsibility.