The pace of the action picks up dramatically in this section. Herzog’s “heart” is no longer merely a subject about which he is confused; now his “heart” is about to drive him toward a violently dangerous situation. When he is with Ramona, he is able to enjoy simple sensual pleasures […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part VISummary and Analysis Part V
Some critics have said that Herzog’s continued introspection and the lack of dramatic action are flaws in this novel. Saul Bellow, however, is using this technique to demonstrate the dark kaleidoscope of delusions and frustrations that can drive a well-educated, sensitive man to the edge of his sanity. Out of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part VSummary and Analysis Part IV
If Himmelstein combated the “void” with hard-nosed pragmatism and Shapiro with pseudo-intellectualism, then Mady for a time attempted to find meaning for her life in religion. But she was tormented with guilt because she was having sex with her lover. Thus Moses thinks she was hypocritical. Through his hero, Bellow […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part IVSummary and Analysis Part III
In this section, there is a fine blending of physical movement, memories, letter writing, and contemplation. A good example is Herzog’s riding the ferry toward Martha’s Vineyard while his memories go back to other journeys. As he writes letters, he recalls the past in a series of finely developed associations. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part IIISummary and Analysis Part II
The opening section of Part II bombards us with naturalistic details of New York City’s cluttered streets and its noisy, foul-smelling thoroughfares. These descriptive catalogues show us the physical distractions that can annihilate self-consciousness by over-stimulating it and overstraining the nerves and emotions. Bellow’s portrait of this deterministic environment echoes […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part IISummary and Analysis Part I
(The novel is not divided numerically, but for the sake of clarity and because Bellow clearly divides the novel into nine parts, the commentaries here are numbered.) The opening pages clearly distinguish the direction of the novel. Burdened by his many failures, Moses E. Herzog is on the verge of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Part ICharacter List
Moses Elkanah Herzog The narrator is a Ph.D. and a professor, forty-seven years old. Through him, we are given a highly emotional analysis of memories, events, and other characters. He is listed in Who’s Who in America, but he has been unable to work since his wife cheated on him […]
Read more Character ListAbout Herzog
Herzog is a portrait of an introspective, troubled hero. Saul Bellow has expressed his fear that the human species is losing its foothold on sanity and that the individual person is losing his capacity to comprehend ideas and to feel genuine emotions. Lacking necessary, justifiable ideologies, we are thrown back […]
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