The Analysis Of Wilhelm In Seize The Day From The Perspective Of Psychological Realism And Psychology

As one of the most influential figures in contemporary American literature, Saul Bellow authentically portrays the complexity and spiritual void in modern western society. During his childhood, Bellow has learned many languages, and can use them skillfully. This is a good foundation for his works. In his novels, Bellow explores living conditions of his time and anatomizes the problems that trouble modern human being.His novel Seize the Day, which was singled out and mentioned specially by the Royal Swedish Academy as one of the classic works of our time, gives readers a vivid description of the predicament of an individual in modern society. Seize the Day not only describes a American Jew’s one-day experience, but also reveals what he has encountered in most of his life through plot design and layout. Through the main character’s experience of failure and mistakes in the real world, his boredom and despair in his spiritual world, the author expresses the theme of American society’s decline and decay. On the one hand, Bellow described the hero’s real life, on the other hand, he turned to the hero’s inner world. The thesis attempts to analyze the protagonist Wilhelm through Psychological Realism and Psychology. This thesis is divided into four chapters.The first chapter is a general introduction of the author and his works, the introduction and background of the novel Seize the Day, the literature review and the object and scope of the study. Also, the first chapter introduces the innovative points of this thesis.The second chapter of this thesis introduced the psychological realism, and described Freud’s theory of personality structure.The third chapter and the forth chapter are the core of this thesis. The third chapter focuses on the analysis of protagonist’s loneliness and depression, by using the theory of psychological realism to analyze the conflict between his father and the hero, the rupture between their love, and the failure of his work. The forth chapter focuses on the analysis of protagonist’s disorientation and failure, by using the theory of personality structure to analyze the protagonist’s relationship with his father, his wife, and the doctor, and the analysis of protagonist’s tragedy, by using the theory of personality structure to analyze the protagonist’s social environment, his family background, and his personality characteristic.The fifth chapter is a total analysis. Through the above studies, the thesis analyzes the reflection of psychological realism and psychology in Seize the Day, and makes a conclusion about the whole thesis. In Seize the Day, the protagonist’s psychological change in the process of ups and downs reflect the reality of American society at that time. Through the sharp contrast between the protagonist’s inner world and the reality, it concludes that this thesis has a certain practical significance for us to think about and to understand the value and meaning of human existence.