Myths, Legends and Traditions in Literature
Irony and Cultural and Mythical Patterns in the Modern Novel Saul Bellow: Characters of the 50s and the 60s
Abstract
Although Bellow's novels deal with huge suffering as a rule, very often a duplicitous ironic approach can be detected in the structure of his books and in the configuration of his main characters. The perspective of psychological torment and frailty in Herzog or Mr. Sammler's Planet is combined with the awareness of an ailing and unusually large body in Henderson the Rain King. This article explores the subtle ironic narrative background in two of his novels and highlights the use of cultural references and mythical allusions as key devices in the construction of characters for which the exercise of suffering is almost a vocation.
Keywords —
irony · cultural references · mythical symbols · character constructionCite this article
Robu, V. (2022). Irony and Cultural and Mythical Patterns in the Modern Novel Saul Bellow: Characters of the 50s and the 60s. Dialogos, 39, 70–82. https://doi.org/10.24818/DLG/2022/39/06
Robu, Valentina. “Irony and Cultural and Mythical Patterns in the Modern Novel Saul Bellow: Characters of the 50s and the 60s.” Dialogos, vol. 39, 2022, pp. 70–82, https://doi.org/10.24818/DLG/2022/39/06.
Robu, Valentina. 2022. “Irony and Cultural and Mythical Patterns in the Modern Novel Saul Bellow: Characters of the 50s and the 60s.” Dialogos 39: 70–82. https://doi.org/10.24818/DLG/2022/39/06.
@article{robu2022irony,
author = {Robu, Valentina},
title = {Irony and Cultural and Mythical Patterns in the Modern Novel Saul Bellow: Characters of the 50s and the 60s},
journal = {Dialogos},
year = {2022},
volume = {39},
pages = {70--82},
doi = {10.24818/DLG/2022/39/06}
}TY - JOUR AU - Robu, Valentina TI - Irony and Cultural and Mythical Patterns in the Modern Novel Saul Bellow: Characters of the 50s and the 60s JO - Dialogos PY - 2022 VL - 39 SP - 70 EP - 82 DO - 10.24818/DLG/2022/39/06 ER -