"Readings" - Saul Bellow Herzog

 Herzog  "Reading" (1-101)

For Moses Herzog life is moving too fast. His mind moves rapidly He catches up with what he has missed by writing letters endlessly. Through his letter writing Herzog is explaining life after the fact. When he is in the moment he can’t react, so his outlet is to write. Herzog is looking for the answer of how to react in the moment. He is the type of character that just misses the moments that matter. He also has this amazing ability to be at fault for all actions, for example his best friend sleeps with his wife then it appears that Herzog is at fault by Phoebe, Valentine’s wife, for the matter. The Narrator adds, “Moses was sure that she [Phoebe] blamed him for aggravating Valentines' ambitions” (65). The hilarity of the situation is that no matter what Herzog has done he is the culprit. Of course, most of these debilitating thoughts come directly from Herzog’s mind. He has a good reason to think such thoughts, but his inability to be sure of himself and take positive stands for himself is one reason he cannot stand on his own.

            Herzog runs from his patriarchal role. The man has children and he ponders this at the beginning of the second section. The narrator says, “He could not allow himself to die yet. The children needed him. His duty was to live. To be sane, and to live, and to look after the kids” (31). But he doesn’t he runs, feeling incapable of fulfilling his duty. He was running from the city hiding, like an animal (31). He was not thinking about what was ahead for himself. I guess to have your life fall apart once is enough, but to have your life fall apart twice can be taxing to any mind. What is Herzog after? Why can’t he say the things he needs to say in the moment? He writes the letters as a coping mechanism. But if he was able to confront those that are deliberately wronging him, he could finally get on with his life.

            Herzog appears to be a big joke to those around him. The Narrator develops Herzog’s character through the minds of other characters. His lawyer, Simkin, likes Herzog for his “moral impulses” (33). It is like everyone else has Herzog figured out and takes the opportunity to define him. Simkin explains, “Hopeless! . . . he looked at Moses and saw a grieving childish man, trying to keep his dignity” (33). Is this a book about perseverance? Human’s ability to overcome and find something to hold on to when there is no logical reason to do so. How does this work find ways to illuminate a characters thoughts in a chaotic world. Expressions through letter writing. Maybe it is like me the only way to cope is to read. Reading all the time, sometimes sanity is held in items. Keeping focused and held together by being attached to something whether it be neurotic or not. Herzog faces constant ridicule and finds himself in a whole always trying to defend his sanity. Even when Dr. Edvig claims Madeline has a small case of paranoia Herzog jumps at and hopes she is completely crazy. In a way it appears that he is doing the same thing as those around him so in a since he is no different than the other characters who ridicule him. But the reader views Herzog and his thoughts so and It is up to us to sort out his physiological state. Maybe we are all crazy in our own weird ways.  

Bellow, Saul. Herzog. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.