Synopsis

Acceptability and adjustability are two great factors essential for harmonious

existence. This is also an essential factor not only in the individual’s personal activities but

also external activities. These two essential factors surface in the protagonists participation

of his inter individual primary and secondary activities as well as his participation with the

environment. It is in that participation the world of the protagonist’s brain is pitted against

the world of heart for which the business world provides the necessary platform. In all

the themes of Bellow’s novels the necessary objective world is that business world that

is on this ground the protagonists interact. This results in themes like family

disintegration, the liberalization of life, the out of placeless, the competition, the suspicion,

the isolation the loneliness that are intertwined intricately without analyzing them as

central topic the very attempt of discussing at length about Bellow’s ingenuity as a

writer is at a loss to fix him in galaxy of the American Jewish novelistic tradition.

Almost all the protagonists that I have taken for my study, Asa Levanthal ( The

Victim) , Augie March (The Adventures of Augie March), Henderson (Henderson The Rain

King), Herzog (Herzog), Citrine (Humboldt’s Gift) are fully endeared with the elements of

acceptability and adjustability as tools of basic trust in themselves that provides them

drive, hope, self- control, will power, direction, purpose, method, competence, devotion, fidelity,

affiliation, love, production, care, renunciation and wisdom.

It is with this positive elements, for example, Asa in The Victim faces a crisis

in life due to the objective factor of the great economic depression of the thirties in

America. The entire country is gripped and gnawed out of undergoing the serious

economic and social difficulties. Against this back ground Bellow shows how Asa
maintains his poise because of his tools of acceptability and adjustability against the

gruesome economic world of cut throat competition and settles account within himself

peacefully as well as conducts himself peacefully with his family, near and dear, friends

and official world. On account of the loss of these two positive tools of acceptability

and adjustability Albee suffers badly and brings in a total loss to his character out of his

basic mistrust on his own self, on others resulting in shame, doubt, guilt, inferiority, role

confusion, isolation, stagnation and despair . What Bellow tries to project through this

novel if an individual has in him the temperament of acceptability and adjustability he

can steer through the course of tough environmental period of deep economic

depression and eke out a peaceful existence. If these two positive factors are found

missing the individual like Albee has to suffer. It is not the race matters . It is not time

matters. It is not education matters. It is not grooming matters. It is not job matters. It is not

religion matters. It is not society matters. It is not money matters. Accepting life as it is and

adjusting with fellow beings alone is essentials for which the individual protagonist is

to inculcate such a mind and heart to gain peace with in and without.

In the case of Bellow’s next novel The Adventures of Augie March these twin

positive factors become an experience of Augie brought up in the uncivilized street of

Chicago, getting involved with its people both as individuals and groups. For the river

of his experience there is no well defined banks. It is in the act of crossing the river of

life, with its rises and falls, with its ebbs and flows, with its land and happy incidents

that alone is the matter. Augie like Columbus searches for each one with his “terra

incognita” and in that attempt he is not completely successful still he continue his journey

of search. In fact in many of his adventures that he partakes in this novel he is successful

because he bears the brunt of these two positive tools with all other tools of potential
positive factors . It is in this sense this novel is unique as the bible of possessing

acceptability and adjustability essential to face any challenges and emerge as a

vanquished person.

In the next novel Henderson the Rain king, he is suffering from a peculiar guilt

feeling that what he occupies belongs to some one else by right. It is because of the

death of his elder brother and his father has given him his share of property to him. He

has in him a terrible guilt in him that whatever place a person occupies does not belong

to him by right. Further the thought of death haunts him. This is in general American

paranoidal fear. That is why he wants to acquaint himself to the deeper source of life.

There is in him a solipsistic kind of existence that he is leading and discover reality. Till

his stay at his place in America he hasn’t come to grips with the twin factors of

acceptability and adjustability as his stay in his place. On account of his gigantic

structure he is a bully at home among his neighbors and also among his kith and kin.

He is totally restless and ever quarrel some, irksome , and authoritarianism. He is at a loss

to get any peace from his religion and its values. That is why he has decided to leave for

the dark continent Africa to know the essence of existence, hoping primitive people living

close to nature may know better answer for his death fear factor. In the first attempt he

reacts the tribal village of Arnewi . Arnewi tribes are humble and peace loving people

rearing cows. They have a water reservoir infested with frogs poisoning drinking water of

them and cows. Henderson feels prity for them and decides to blart the frogs .It is really

ironical that he is there to fend an answer for his spiritual gurt whereas he wants to

interpret the role of a savior for them in so doing he has brought them doom. He leaves this

tribe and enter into the area of Wariris. There tribes hit by terrible drought prays to

rain God for a heavy shower. The customary ritual of moving the goddess Mummah by a
valorous person (the Holy knight of Faith) remains to be completed before the tribes

could be blessed with the rains. By showing his valour, which is his second nature as he

happens to be a great soldier during was period, he plunges into action and succeeds in

moving the mammoth wooden statue and gain the title as Sango, the rain king. Henderson’s

trust on his physical strength and impulsive spirit to show his values is really the motif of

resurrection that is found built in him as a true Holy knight of Faith. It is at this point

he has proved to be worthy of his positive elements of basic trust that has got him keys

for his successful Endeavour from his African experiences he learnt the value of spiritual

existence in man as soul or spirit the indwelling godly matter from the dark continent. The

land appears to be uncivilized value of man onwardly but teaches the value of man, life and

his God head existence as unshakable factors of faith in reason and stability.

Herzog is a name that has a German root that suggests a man with Heart. This

itself fully explains that Herzog like Moses is a person having the qualities of a guide , a

leader and a philosopher for human race . As the name itself suggests the way Herzog

shows has its roots on acceptability and adjustability in order to escape from any great

calamity that on and often occurs in the phenomenal world. With these tools one can

search for long lasting solutions by keeping the contemporary flames of helplessness,

violence and despair at bay. Herzog’s cell and organism cannot digest the indifferent

attitudes of the people that has not reached on an uncontrollable level. Further he feels

very much for divorces. The inter- individual urban relation is cynical and artificial. Herzog

says this again and again. This is because of marriage partners basic mistrust on each

other as has bondage and wife brings shame and doubt, inferiority and despair. Because of

the practice of mutual mistrust the family harmony gets disturbed. Herzog’s primary concern

is his family feeling. His is a rural family. He loves them, adores them, that even his
brother could not understand this. Further in this novel Bellow specifically focuses his

attention on the sociological aspect of city life whose ways are inhuman and disrespectful

towards the individual and his potentialities of developing as an integral human beings.

capable of long lasting primary relation with its accent on acceptability and adjustability

with all other positive components mentioned above. In fact these components cement the

bondage of filial and social ties . In the modern world tribal feelings of love and concern

take the impersonal, superficial, transient and segmental urban tendencies as urban

behaviour of rationalism and sophistication.

In Humboldt’s Gift Citrine accepts nature alone provider of peace like Augie

Henderson and to a certain extent Asa, of course leave, the city. Though he accepts and

adjusts himself within him self and with the outside world Citrine has become a victim to

Mafia world that drives him leave from USA and settle in Spain. Madrid contributes more

to Charlie’s satisfaction and its urbanization is at a lower degree. Further Spaniards

resemble his parents, and his immigrant aunts and cousins. It is also because the American

justice and American women and the American Mafia are not after him. for a short period

he is without money. He enjoys this isolation because he possess the positive traits of

accepting life and affording him self with the environment he lives in . But as ill luck

would have it the old Mafia comes in bringing him a lot of miseries . As it has been

said as every dark cloud has a silver lining the gift of Humboldt ( The manuscript of him

got him dollars out of it taken as a movie ) comes in, thereby there is a flow of money and

that pulls him to go back to Chicago. Here after his arrival to Chicago he develops a new

philosophy that he has learned and realized that there is a death for life but death is

another stage of life. This change of attitude has triggered him to exhume, his Guru

Humboldt’s grave as well as his mother and reburied them side by side. For him the
midst of death and in the midst of the city there is a flower blooming as a sign of hope,

of continuity and of a new beginning. It is after this point in his life, Citrine has become

a changed man and is going to concentrate on higher things , on things of the spirit,

something which the modern man, ( especially urban man ) as Bellow’s portrayals has lost

or replaced by American historical civilization of pragmatism.

In all these five novels the positive traits of acceptability and adjustability are

after having had its recourse taken to all other elements like basic trust have taken the

dimension of showing mercy to a fellow sufferer though with an element of chagrin in

The victim. Showing concern to all whether a friend or foe in Augie realizing the worth

of love essential for the individual and the society, keeping in harmony in Henderson the

Rain King with nature essential for human life in Herzog, realizing that death in life is an

entry to the world of the spirit as expounded in Humboldt’s Gift.