A Narratological Study Of Saul Bellow’s Henderson The Rain King

As one of Saul Bellow’s masterpieces, Henderson the Rain King has been critics’favorite for its consummate artistic skills and profound realistic significance. Relatedcritical essays and academic discussions generally cover aspects like spiritual rebirththeme, the discourse and gender, the novel’s mythical elements and the relationshipbetween Bellow and Existentialism, etc. However, Bellow studies in China are still inthe early stage, as most of the domestic studies are confined to the analysis of thehero’s spiritual salvation and Bellow’s Transcendentalism, and researches on thenarrative features are quite limited. This thesis therefore intends, by virtue of narrativetheories proposed by Booker, Genette and Rimmon-Kenan, to discuss the novel’snarrative features (plot, text time and narrative level), and how these narrativetechniques help reveal the novel’s themes: a threatening society, the neurotic andimpotent hero and the quest for life truth and values.This thesis consists of five parts. Chapter One gives a brief introduction to SaulBellow, Henderson the Rain King, previous criticism on this novel, and the relevantnarratological theories. Chapters Two to Four are the core part of the thesis. ChapterTwo discusses the novel’s “Voyage and Return” plot and how it reveals the themes.Chapter Three studies the time arrangement and its revelation of the themes. ChapterFour analyses different narrative levels in the novel and their functions of disclosingthe themes. Chapter Five is the conclusion.