What is the American Dream? How does Wilhelm become the victim of the American Dream
Seize the Day is a notable literary work by Saul Bellow. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, and various study materials of Seize the Day.
Answer
What is the American Dream? How does Wilhelm become the victim of the American Dream?
Or, Do you consider Wilhelm a victimized hero?
“Seize the Day” is one of the famous novels of the 20th century by Saul Bellow (1915-2005). The novel focuses on sundry themes. The American dream is one of the leading themes of the novel. It is represented through the typical hero, Tommy Wilhelm, who is a victimized protagonist.
American dream: The American dream means rapid success in life and becoming rich as soon as possible. This kind of doctrine creates mental pressure on the youth of society. Saul Bellow takes the responsibility to remove such misconception of the American dream by adopting his typical hero, Wilhelm.
Wilhelm as a victimized hero: Saul Bellow has limned his hero as a tragic character who must be free from harsh criticism and able to achieve pity and fear from the audience. As Wilhelm is a tragic hero or anti-hero, he is also victimized by the American dream and different aspects or angles.
Extreme financial crisis: When the novel starts, the protagonist of the novel, Tommy Wilhelm, has been suffering from a dilemma- the American dream and the high demand for money for daily necessities. His wife Margaret demands alimony, but he has no earnings since he lost his job in sales. Such a situation in a man’s life is a token of being victimized.
Immaturity and lack of insight: Though Wilhelm is in his mid-forties, he has immaturity and lack of insight from nineteen to forty-four. It is universal that a man with immaturity and a lack of insight can be victimized very easily by the tiny facts, let alone the big ones. The novel’s plot is arranged by dividing it into two sections, past and present.
Past memories are based on flashbacks from which the readers can learn that the protagonist had been a victim of the American dream at nineteen. He left his college and pursued an acting career influenced by a fraud character, Maurice Venice, and failed out and out. Thus, he has