An Archetypal Analysis Of Herzog

Saul Bellow(1915 –– 2005) is often considered as one of the most well-known novelists in the history of American literature after Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner. He is the only novelist to win the National Book Award three times. Besides, he also received the Pulitzer Prize for Novels and National Medal of Arts. He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1976 “for the human understanding and subtle analysis of the contemporary culture that are combined in his work”(Atlas 405). Known as one of the most outstanding American writers, Bellow has created a large number of novels. Among them, Herzog, published in 1964, is unanimously accepted as Bellow’s masterpiece. This novel was highly praised by the critics, and soon became a sensational bestseller. With this novel, Saul Bellow becomes the first American who has won the National Book Award. Even Bellow himself also regards Herzog as his best book. Since its publication, the novel has drawn a lot of academic interest. However, the previous studies of this novel mainly focus on existentialism, romanticism, characterization, feminism and narrative techniques. Few studies have related to the archetypal analysis of this novel.Archetypal criticism is a type of critical approach, by which we explore the shared experience and perception of human beings presented in literary works to deepen our understanding of man and literature. The Bible, as the main source of western literature, has nourished generations of writers. The Bible provides a lot of creative materials, character archetypes, and artistic techniques for western writers. Furthermore, the emotional trend and values shaped in the Bible have a great influence on the expression of theme and the promotion of values in the literary creation of western writers. Thus, on the basis of archetypal criticism,this thesis makes an in-depth analysis of biblical archetypes in Herzog, and then explores the thought connotation and social significance of this novel. The positive attitude towards human nature and life enlightened from the Bible may provides lost modern people with a way to survive. On the whole, the use of biblical archetypes conveys Bellow’s intention effectively,deepens the cultural connotation of the novel, enhances artistic quality of the novel, and arouses the sympathy of readers.This thesis consists of five parts. The first part is an introduction which introduces the significance of Saul Bellow and his Herzog, literature reviews from different perspectives on Herzog, the archetypal criticism and the significance of its application to Herzog. Chapter One is the analysis of biblical archetypal structure in Herzog. In the novel, Bellow borrows U-shaped and circular structure from the biblical narrative. Chapter Two examines the four biblical themes in Herzog including wandering, suffering, quest and self-atonement. Chapter Three analyzes thebiblical archetypal characters in Herzog. The main characters in the novel are associated metaphorically with the characters from the Bible. Among them, the archetypes associated with Herzog are Moses and Job, and the archetypes associated with Madeleine are Delilah and Eve.The last part is conclusion.