Seize the Day (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Saul Bellow
- First Published: 1956
- Type of Work: Novella
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: The 1950’s
- Setting: New York City
- Genres: Long fiction, Realism, Domestic realism
- Subjects: 1950’s, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Parents and children, New York City, Alienation, Fathers, Money
- Locales: Manhattan, NY, Los Angeles, CA, Brooklyn, NY
Characters Discussed
Tommy Wilhelm, born Wilhelm Adler, an unemployed salesman living at the Gloriana Hotel in New York City. Middle-aged and separated from his wife and sons, Tommy is mired in a professional and personal slump. Almost broke, he seeks financial help but longs for spiritual solace as well, and he appeals to those around him for any help they can offer. His pleas to his father, not simply for money but for compassion or even a kind word, are met with scolding and impatient sighs of disgust. Down on his luck and reeling from some recent mistakes, Tommy is largely...
[The entire page is 978 words long]
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