Henderson the Rain King (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Saul Bellow
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Picaresque
- Time of Work: Late 1950’s
- Setting: Primarily Africa
- Genres: Long fiction, Picaresque fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s, Self-discovery, Africa or Africans, Courage, Gods or goddesses, Identity, Millionaires, Priests, Animals, dangerous, Rain
- Locales: Africa, France, Connecticut
Characters Discussed
Eugene Henderson, a fifty-five-year-old millionaire from Danbury, Connecticut. He has been married twice and has five children. At a time when most people would be thinking of retirement and the end of life, Henderson is seized by wanderlust. Although he never precisely explains why he wants to go to Africa, in the course of his adventures it becomes clear that he is the kind of person who is curious about everything and who must find out what is over the next hill, like Odysseus, a classical character with whom he is compared. Before he leaves on his...
[The entire page is 948 words long]
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See Also:
Saul Bellow (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Saul Bellow (Dictionary of World Biography)Saul Bellow (Short Fiction)Saul Bellow (Long Fiction)Saul Bellow (Identities and Issues)
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