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Saul Bellow

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Page 1: Saul Bellow
Page 2: Saul Bellow

Nobel Prize for Literature winner in 1976

Major representative of Jewish-American writers

Most famous for novel—The Adventures of Augie March

Page 3: Saul Bellow

1925 Union Station completed 1929 St. Valentine’s Day Massacre—gang

violence during prohibition era 1955 first McDonald’s restaurant 1973 Sears Tower completed 1979 American Airlines flight 191 crashes—

deadliest airplane crash in US history 1983 Harold Washington became first African

American major 1990s Chicago Bulls win 6 NBA titles Cubs still haven’t won World Series title since

1908

Page 4: Saul Bellow

Born Solomon Bello in 1915 in Lachine, Quebec (suburb of Montreal)

Parents were Russian Jewish immigrants

1924, family moved to Chicago after father was beaten from bootlegging.

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1933, entered University of Chicago but later transferred to Northwestern University

Received Bachelor’s Degree with honors in sociology and anthropology at Northwestern University in 1937.

Page 6: Saul Bellow

Worked towards getting master’s degree in sociology and anthropology at the University of Wisconsin.

After one semester, he dropped out and returned to Chicago to continue career in literature.

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His literature career involved teaching, editing, and writing fiction.

Besides brief service as marine in World War II, one year in Paris, and a short time living in New York City, he spent rest of life in Chicago.

Page 8: Saul Bellow

Bellow rejected Ernest Hemingway’s “tough guy” model of American fiction.

He wrote about a wide range of cultural fields and tradition—popular culture and Russian-Jewish heritage.

Many of Bellow’s works are written in first person, using characters of personal experiences.

Page 9: Saul Bellow

Bellow’s Canadian birth, Jewish heritage, the several divorces he had, and his experience waiting to be drafted into the military are described in his characters in his first novel The Dangling Man (1944).

Page 10: Saul Bellow

In 1948, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and spent two years in Paris and traveling in Europe, where he began The Adventures of Augie March.

His best-selling novel, The Adventures of Augie March won the National Book Award for fiction in 1954.

The Adventures of Augie March was one of many books that Bellow wrote that reflected his own life.

Page 11: Saul Bellow

One of many stories that Bellow writes that is based on men of with high sensibility and learning capabilities.

Recounts experiences of individual in quest for self-understanding.

Augie March, protagonist, is born into immigrant Jewish family in Chicago before the Great Depression.

Augie’s mother is poor and blind, his younger brother George is mentally challenged, and his older brother Simon wants to become rich at a young age.

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Each of the brothers live in rough times. As a result, Augie works several different

jobs. He becomes obsessed with women. Augie tries to discover “the lesson and

theory of power” Augie is trapped in a very masculine world,

more generous in his trust in women He is unsuccessful and finds lies everywhere

he searches. The Adventure of Augie March is based on

city life. Bellow uses colorful, energetic characters

who are obsessed with sex and/or making money in The Adventures of Augie March.

Page 13: Saul Bellow

Other works include: The Victim (1947) The Wreckers (1954) Seize The Day (1956) Henderson the Rain King (1959) Herzog (1964)—National Book Award Mr. Samler’s Planet (1970)—National

Book Award Humboldt’s Gift (1975)—Pulitzer Prize To Jerusalem and Back (1976)

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Married 5 times Ended academic career at

Boston University Retired in rural Vermont, where

he died in 2005

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What type of immigrants did Bellow’s family come from?

What three colleges did Bellow attend during his life?

What was Saul Bellow’s most famous literary work?

Page 16: Saul Bellow

The following links provided much information used in this presentation.

All 3 websites are from organizations, and not for commercial use.

Jewish Virtual Library: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/bellow.html

Nobelprize.org: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1976/bellow-bio.html

Saul Bellow Society: http://www.saulbellow.org/