A Complicated Personality in Seize The Day By Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow, a distinctive prominent writer in American literature, is frequently concerned with the themes of Jewish culture, and alienation. In Bellow’s novel Seize the Day, Tommy Adler “the maladroit, suffering middle-aged hero of the book, is the pathetic heir in post-war fiction to the failure of the American Dream” (Richmond 15). Tommy abandons his family and endeavors to emulate his father. However, his father’s perfectionism and preference for avoidance of his son lead to the protagonist’s physical and psychological alienation. Furthermore, the resemblance of their lifestyles and attitudes indicates that their consciousness, sub-conscious, and psychologies follow the same routine. This study will therefore argue the novel’s psychoanalytic characteristics.