Herzog Analysis

Literary Devices in Herzog

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Setting

Don't waste a trip to the Grand Canyon on him: no matter where Herzog is, he doesn't really like to take in the sights. And when he does notice his surroundings, he projects all his anxieties and f...

Narrator Point of View

The first line of this book tells us we're dealing with a third-person narrator:If I am out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog. (1.1)Holy omniscience, Batman. We know from the...

Genre

Moses Herzog's biggest struggle is with his own mind. And, frankly, at times we'd bet that ol' Herz would rather battle some White Walkers north of the Wall than do battle inside his brainpan. A ch...

Tone

You get the best sense of this book's overall tone when you read the letters that Moses Herzog writes to all kinds of people, both living and dead. He even writes to Nietzche, for Pete's sake:Dear...

Writing Style

There's a reason why critics in 1964 hailed Saul Bellow as one of the best fiction writers in America. It's because the guy knows how to put together a sentence or two and create an atmosphere. Jus...

What's Up With the Title?

At first glance, the title of this book is an obvious choice because it's the protagonist's last name. And boy oh boy, do we get an insider's look into the troubled perpetual motion machine that is...

What's Up With the Ending?

He wanted to tell her to sprinkle the floor. She was raising too much dust. In a few minutes he would call down to her, "Damp it down, Mrs. Tuttle. There's water in the sink" But not just yet. At t...

Tough-o-Meter

Not gonna lie to you: Herzog is lean on plot and heavy on its descriptions of Moses Herzog's tangled psychological issues. This can make the book feel like a tough slog, especially when Herzog gets...

Plot Analysis

The story opens with a look at Moses Herzog (our titular—tee hee—main man), who is hanging out at a house in the Berkshires and writing a bunch of letters, mostly of which are composed in his h...

Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis

Moses Herzog begins this book with a lot on his mind. He's in a pretty dark place: he's living in the shadow that's been cast by his divorce from his second wife Madeleine, as well as his general s...

Three-Act Plot Analysis

Moses Herzog sounds like he needs to go into a mental institution. He sits around on his own all day and writes fake letters to the president and dead relatives. But can you blame the guy? His wife...

Trivia

Did you know that Saul Bellow was an academic for much of his adult life, just like Moses Herzog? It's enough to make you wonder what other similarities there might be…(Source) Many consider Bell...

Steaminess Rating

Moses E. Herzog leads a pretty sexed-up life and Saul Bellow isn't afraid to present this life in all its adult details. Herz walks around the streets of Manhattan leering at anything in a skirt. H...

Allusions

Robert Frost, The Gift Outright (9.2)Martin Heidegger (2.152)Rachel Carson (2.154)Friedrich Nietzsche (2.156).T.E. Hulme (4.162)Catullus (5.360)Vinoba Bhave (2.148)