The Victim (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Saul Bellow
- First Published: 1947
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Moral
- Time of Work: Probably the 1940’s
- Setting: New York City
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, New York City, 1940’s, Guilt, Poverty or poor people, Mental illness, Fear, Adultery, Loneliness, Paranoia, Neuroses, Summer
- Locales: New York, NY
Characters Discussed
Asa Leventhal, who works as an editor of a trade paper. He finds his life turned upside down in a matter of days. While Asa’s wife, Mary, is out of town visiting relatives, Asa receives a call from his brother’s wife, Elena, who is also alone. Her husband, Max, has gone to Texas for a better job. Elena’s son Mickey is sick, and she asks Asa for help. Over the next few days, Mickey grows worse and dies. At the same time, Asa meets a seedy alcoholic, Kirby Allbee, who blames his downfall on Asa. Years before, using Kirby as a reference, Asa had a job...
[The entire page is 526 words long]
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