Abstract
The crisis of capitalism, or what Saul Bellow dubs “the crisis of knowledge”, crystallizes the way he deconstructs and subverts the roots of modern American culture. The concepts of “darkness” and “Malheur” embody the tragic fate of capitalism and the end of history to recall Baudrillard and Fukuyama. Colin Davis relates this intellectual atmosphere to Lyotard’s theory of “after knowledge” and the postmodern condition, Lévinas’s “after ethics” and Althusser’s “after hope”. Fictionally, Bellow epitomizes this cultural backdrop in modern America by addressing the decline of civility, the agony of the artist, the end of humanism and morality in a society which is dominated by the crowd of low culture to cite Williams. Conceding that the novelist identifies “darkness”, “noon”, “Malheur” and “capitalism” with Derrida’s premises of deconstruction and Foucault’s insights about episteme theory and the archeology of knowledge, it becomes then fundamental to underpin how he gives theory and philosophy an overriding role in the purification of humanism from the burden of materialism and capitalistic democracy. Special focus is on Herzog (1964), Mr. Sammler’s Planet (1970), Humboldt’s Gift (1975) and The Dean’s December (1982) as they illustrate Bellow’s gestures of deconstructing the negativity of capitalism.
Highlights
This paper addresses most explicitly the way Bellow deconstructs the roots of American capitalistic culture
The researchers purport to envision how the novelist shows scrupulous faithfulness to the premises of deconstructionism, and keep reiterating what is to decipher/decode. The outcome of this subversive gesture, one acknowledges, is that the novelist has been developing a theory of morality and humanism, not like that which is highly generated by apocalyptic theories, but that which the Enlightenment has purported to establish
Through Henderson, Bellow explicitly suggests that the ethics of capitalism in modern American society and culture must be deconstructed and subverted in order to generate a counterculture of humanism and life
Summary
This paper addresses most explicitly the way Bellow deconstructs the roots of American capitalistic culture. The researchers purport to envision how the novelist shows scrupulous faithfulness to the premises of deconstructionism, and keep reiterating what is to decipher/decode next. The researchers purport to envision how the novelist shows scrupulous faithfulness to the premises of deconstructionism, and keep reiterating what is to decipher/decode The outcome of this subversive gesture, one acknowledges, is that the novelist has been developing a theory of morality and humanism, not like that which is highly generated by apocalyptic theories, but that which the Enlightenment has purported to establish. As long as the task remains unfulfilled and the Enlightenment is not yet over, it is the purpose of this paper to unveil the way Bellow’s intellectual heroes question the roots of American capitalistic culture. The researchers conclude that Bellow shows a theoretical text, the novels, which serves from claims of epistemological mastery, that never dies, unfulfilled, premature, and not yet over
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
