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3.2.2 Holy Consciousness 7
3.3 The Theme 8
3.3.1 Responsibility 8
3.3.2 Salvation 9
4 The Causes of Saul Bellow’s Judaic Complex 10
4.1 The Personal Factors 10
4.2 The Social Factors 11
5 Conclusion 12
References 13
An Analysis of Saul Bellow’s Judaic Complex in “Looking for Mr. Green”
1 Introduction
Saul Bellow is an excellent writer in that he won a lot of prizes such as the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Pulitzer Prize and the National Medal of Arts. When he died on April 5, 2005, Bellow’s friends and readers from home and abroad expressed their grief for the loss of this literary master. It is obvious that people will start a new round of studies on Saul Bellow.
Saul Bellow was born in Lachine, Quebec on June 10,1915. Bellow and his parents immigrated to the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago when he was nine years old. Because of this experience of living in the “Melting Pot” during the Depression, Saul Bellow’s knowledge was enriched and his vision was widened by the Jewish culture, Russian culture, American culture and so on.
The Adventures of Augie March was published in 1953, which brought him great fame. But what really made Bellow well known is Herzog, which was published in 1964. It tells a story about a Jewish explorer named Herzog and succeeds in empathizing him strongly with intellectuals.
On account of Bellow’s longevity, he published 15 novels and novellas, as well as 2 collections of short stories. Mosby’s Memoirs and other stories is one of Saul Bellow’s short story collections, which was published in 1968. “Looking for Mr. Green ” is included in it.
“Looking for Mr. Green” is a short story written by Saul Bellow in the late 1940s. This short story, set in the Great Depression, tells a story about a day of George Grebe, who delivers relief checks to those people living in Harlem Chicago. Grebe tried his best to find Mr. Green during the day, but he did not succeed in finding him. He only found a drunk and naked woman. At last, Grebe gave the check to that woman. He believed that Mr. Green could be found.
Judaism, with a history of more than 3000 years, is one of the oldest religions in the world. Jewish history starts with Abraham, who made a covenant with God and became the father of multitudes. His son Isaac and Jacob are the patriarchs of Judaism. According to Exploring Jewish Tradition: A Transliterated Guide to Everyday Practice and Observance, “Judaism is more than a faith. It encompasses religious laws; sacred rituals and age-old customs; thousands of years of uninterrupted history; a spiritual, physical, and political attachment to the Jewish homeland; a commitment to social justice and righteousness; a deep love of learning; a dedication to the perpetuation of the Hebrew language; and varied cultural expression in art, music, dance, and the theatre.” (Abraham, 2001, p.1) Despite the varying methodological approaches tracing the progress of Jewish philosophical thought, the basis of the philosophy of Judaism is an ethical monotheism, which is Bible-centered. The distinctive characteristics of Judaism are its covenant with God, its humanism and its emphasis on moral action. The Jews are concerned with establishing a relationship between God and man. Both written law and oral law of their beliefs are set forth in the Torah and comprise the Talmud. The Jews value intellectual pursuit highly, which is regarded ideally as a route to God, a means of understanding and rational judgment.