A Study Of Reality Instructors In Herzog

Saul Bellow is one of the most renowned Jewish writers and along with William Faulkner,the greatest modern American writer of prose for his immense stylistic powers.He won the Nobel Prize for Literature “for the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work.” Herzog,published in 1964,is Bellow’s most abundant,rich and strenuous novel and has received constant interpretations from both the public and academia.Bellow is a contemporary writer in the tradition of humanism,whose novels,with immense favor for individualism and great sense of social responsibility,are constantly concerned with the modern conditions for human beings.Since many of his works focus on the rich experiences and spiritual pursuit of the male protagonists,they are often regarded as Bildungsroman.Herzog,too,is often studied as a Bildungsroman because of its narrative of the protagonist’s physical and spiritual journey,which results in his reformation and growth.When interviewed after the publication of Herzog,Bellow also noted that it should be first read as a Bildungsroman.Yet reviews and studies of this novel mainly underline the protagonist’s pursuit for his inner self and for freedom,as well as the combination of the physical and the spiritual journey.Seldom have they noticed the various,significant influences that the “reality instructors” have on him.This thesis sees Herzog as an important Bildungsroman by Saul Bellow.The middle-aged protagonist Herzog is lost in the predicaments in his life,undergoing a second marriage breakdown,weary of his academic research and isolated from important relationships with others.Guided by and often colliding with the “reality instructors,” he is driven to see more realities.These “reality instructors,” including his mistress Ramona,his brother Willie,and his opponent Gersbach and his second wife Madeline,have respective impact on the Bildung of the protagonist,which facilitates him to build love relationships,to restore connection with his family and to understand evil and diversity of human beings.By various means Herzog comes to know realities,to regain balance between the inner self and the outside forces and to achieve reformation and growth.It is by studying the “reality instructors” in Herzog that the modern conditions are revealed and the possibility is manifested that modern people can achieve their Bildung and integrate themselves into the vast human life.