A View of Transcendentalism in Henderson the Rain King

Abstract

The continuous social competition makes people intend to show their own personalities, but they neglect the unity and love between human beings. On the basis of the textual analysis of Bellow’s novel Henderson the Rain King, this thesis tries to explore the relationship between Saul Bellow and the nineteenth century American Transcendentalism especially its leader Ralph Waldo Emerson’s theories of Transcendentalism, and shows Bellow’s attitude toward the American Transcendentalism: acceptance and surpass. This thesis reflects that losing the ability to love is one of the reasons for mental crisis of modern people, and makes people realize the importance of love and believe that love is the most basic and permanent power of creating happiness.