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Tragic Hero In Seize The Day

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A good number of critics have evaluated Tommy Wilhelm regarding his drawbacks only and have settled him as a complete failure. Many of them have given him the title of an anti-hero. But they have failed to see the luminous traits of Tommy’s character. Tommy, though a failure, possesses some rare human qualities alien to the denizens of waste-land like western civilization rendered arid and vapid by Mammon worship. The focal point, in this study, is to establish the fact that in spite of having various negative and un-heroic qualities, Tommy, by defying social structure and network, asserts his non-conformity which, along with his humanity, love and philanthropy, aversion for power and material success and most importantly, his power of overcoming …show more content…

Unlike the mythical heroes like Achilles or Hercules, who possesses enormous physical and mental strength and serves the entire nation, there is no joyful homecoming for Tommy or a satisfied sense of completion of mammoth task. He does not have the Herculean strength, nor has he Achillean prowess, nor he has the sky-kissing magnanimity of a Shakespearean tragic hero who the audience views with awe. Seize the Day is the story of Tommy Wilhelm, a middle aged person who, being a complete failure, jobless, separated from his wife and children, devoid of love and affection, alienated from the social network, unable to marry his mistress, frustrated of being cheated by a man whom he trusts a lot, and burdened with overdue rent, finds himself tormented and on the verge of collapse. The novel gives vent to the feelings and inner anguish of a modern psyche snared in a maze of all pervasive loneliness and alienation. Tommy is a man who possesses at a superficial discernment, little strength, physical, mental …show more content…

He writes, “In fiction the unnerving rubric ‘anti-hero’ refers to a ragged assembly of victims: the fool, the clown, the hipster, the criminal, the poor soul, the freak, the outsider, the scapegoat, the scrubby opportunist, the rebel without a cause, the hero in the ashcan and hero on the lash”. Viewed from the perspective of this definition, we see that Tommy Wilhelm, the protagonist of Saul Bellow’s masterpiece Seize the Day seems to be an anti-hero. “Wilhelm like other Bellovian heroes has the fatal flaws inherent in his personality; he is an alienated individual living on the margin of the society” (Obaidulla & Ahmed, 2001, p.76). Bellow’s writing puts a lot of emphasis on the themes of the individual versus society and individual in self conflict. “In his writing, society is always portrayed as impersonal, mechanical and indifferent to individuals”(Dutton, 1982, p.1). In that cruel society the individual, with his dreams, desires, and ideologies, finds a place for himself, asserts, his identity, and, most importantly, maintains self

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