An Analysis Of The Actual From Perspective Of Postcolonialism

Saul Bellow (1915-2005) is a famous American-Jewish writer. Most of his works reflect the situation of the Jews who live in the American melting pot, which are literarily influential in America. The Actual published in1997, is Bellow’s medium-length novel, which recounts Harry Trellman’s half-century love and meanwhile reflects the fact that the ingrained cultural colonization has deeply influenced on American Jews and their situation.This essay mainly sets out postcolonialism to research The Actual. The essay consists of five chapters. As the introduction, the first chapter mainly introduces Saul Bellow’s life and his works, briefly narrates the story of The Actual, introduces the research status about Saul Bellow and his works at home and abroad, and puts forward the innovative point of the theses. The second chapter briefly describes the theory of postcolonialism, the main representatives of postcolonialism and their viewpoints. With analyzing the main representatives of postcolonialism and their viewpoints, we can conclude the main features of postcolonialism, and expound the feasibility of The Actual in Postcolonialism. The third chapter combines the theory and the novel to research the embodiment of postcolonialism in The Actual. In The Actual, Harry Trellman’s and Sigmund Adletsky’s strong self-awareness and strong observation reflects American Jews’pains as "the others" for long time. Because of the asymmetrical images between American Jews and the mainstream society, American Jews’identity of the ethnic minorities makes them use taciturnity and self-defense to boycott the discrimination from the mainstream society. For getting rid of pushing aside and integrating into the mainstream society, as the representatives of American Jews, Harry Trellman and Sigmund Adletsky amplify the spirits of deep exploration, make great efforts to develop their career, and learn new knowledge to strive to completely integrate into the mainstream society.The fourth chapter analyses deep reasons that cause the Jewish features.To start with the Jewish history, explain the influence of the Jewish history to their present status. They do not know where they are from and where they belong to, therefore, it forms the Jewish cosmopolitan in life and rootlessness in spirits. Due to the rootless consciousness, the Jewish try to look for recognition of cultural identity, which reflects the influence of cultural colonization on American-Jewish. The last chapter summarizes the essay and reexplains the view, further states the significance of postcolonialism, and the inspiration to developing the society. Through this essay, we can more realize American-Jewish writers and their works, and more profoundly understand implied meanings.