The Universal Jewishness in the View of Ethnology

Abstract：This thesis analyzes Herzog from the view of ethnology and finds that the novel has a deeper meaning of universality and that it surpasses the concern of Jewishness and reaches a broader theme of humanistic care. By studying the Jewishness and universality in Herzog， it can be concluded that Saul Bellow embedded his anxiety and unique perceiving in his works. In this way， Bellow announced to the world that he was a Jew， an American， an ordinary human being and that a writer should not be the writer of a nation or a race， but of all human beings， he should not care about his own people， but about the whole human world.

key words：The Universal Jewishness；A Thematic Study ；Herzog

I. Introduction of Ethnology

The word ethnology originates in the Greek word eqnowtpacpein， meaning the record and description of different ethnic groups. Western academic circles believe that ethnology was mainly proposed by ancient Greek historian Herodotus in 484 B.C. While Russian scholars hold the view that the real ethnology emerged in 1877， the year in which Ancient Society by American ethnologist Lewis Henry Morgan （1818～1881） was published. Most of Chinese scholars agree with the view that ethnology as a real subject started with the publication of Morgan’s Ancient Society in the middle of 19th century.

1.1 Related Key Words of Ethnology

Ethnicity is one of the key words when it comes to the study of Jewishness in literature in view of ethnology. It is the marking of a certain ethnic group. Jewishness is an ethnicity which clearly marks the unique features of Jewish people.

However， under certain circumstances， what is unique for an ethnic group can also become what is general for all human beings.

1.2 Literary Review

The Jewishness in American Jewish writers’ works contains religious， social and political meanings. Since 1960s， Saul Bellow has become one of the most analyzed American writers overseas. Hitherto， the researches in Bellow and his literary works are pretty mature.

Compared with the overseas researches， our domestic academic circles were lagging behind. We started Bellow-related researches back after the Cultural Revolution and in the wake of economic reform and opening-up. The researches began to diversify till the 1990s. Since then， researches about the themes， the techniques， the artistic values are blooming， and nearly half of the other researches are studying the female characters and the gender relationship， the existentialistic tendency in Bellow’s novels， the translation of Bellow’s intellectual images， picaresque images， and father images， and the humanistic spirit in his works. Until now， the most accepted and latest researches are carried out by two professors in Xiamen University， Dr. Liu Wensong， the writer of Saul Bellow’s Fiction： Power Relations and Female Representation and Dr. Zhou Nanyi， the writer of Toward A New Utopia： a Study of the Novels by Saul Bellow， Bernard Malamud， and Cynthia Ozick.

The studies on the Jewishness in Bellow’s literary works are many， among which Zou Zhiyong’s Jewishness of Modern American Jewish Literature and Its Metaphysitic， Dr. Zhou Nanyi’s Image of Father in Judaic Novels， and Wang Hanquan’s Humanistic Anxiety and National Remembrance： Relation Between Humanistic Concern and the Situation of Jewish Nation in Herzog are the most quoted literature.

II. The Implicit Jewishness in Herzog

Herzog is the hero in the novel. He was a Jewish intellectual suffering from marriage， career， and social relationship. Many of his experiences revealed or related to his Jewish identity and his Jewish ancestors. Jewishness was inseparable when analyzing the main theme of Herzog.

2.1 The definition of Jewishness

A famous expert in Jewish culture Hence once gave an elaboration， “If a person is attracted by Jewish religion and there is a call deep in his heart to abide by the traditional belief and customs， this is Judaism. If there is a call deep in one’s heart to follow and form a kind of demeanor， a sign， a cultural memory unlike Judaism’s being systematical or heavy， this is Jewishness.”

In making definition of Jewishness， an important word Judaism is necessary to be mentioned. According to Hence’s research， Judaism is a lifestyle. It is a medium to communicate with God. However， Jewishness means that somebody being a real Jew， wandering on alien lands， after experiencing assimilation and rebellion， through thick and thin， his Jewish memories and characteristics finally internalizes into his soul.

Chinese expert Liu Hongyi is one of the most respected academic authorities studying in Jewish culture. In his book Cultural Poetics Studies in American Jewish Fiction he gave a relatively overall definition of Jewishness of contemporary Jews. “To an individual Jewish cultural member， Jewishness is a kind of general and inalienable spiritual feeling， a kind of existing cultural complex that is deep rooted in one’s heart. To the Jewish ethnicity as an entirety， Jewishness is a comprehensive， complex， featured cultural historic structure and spiritual qualities different from any other ethnic cultures.”

Liu Hongyi further pointed out the essence of Jewish literature’s Jewishness. “It is a literary form of digestion and exertion of key Jewish cultural elements， and the comprehensive ethnic qualities revealed in this form.”

Pro. Liu’s definitions of Jewish individuals and Jewishness are widely accepted and recognized as overall and concise. In this thesis， these definitions are used.

2.2 The Implicit Jewishness in Herzog

In the novel， the description about Herzog’s Jewishness is little and vague. If traced carefully， the following two aspects of Jewishness may be found.

2.2.1 Immigrant identity awareness

Gu Xiaoming clearly put forward the definition of “immigrant” in his book Jewish： A Culture Full of Paradoxes that “the definition of immigrant is corresponding with that of coexisting.” “Coexisting means that the ethnic groups coexist. When the distinction and disparities between the two ethnic groups are huge， usually， there is one stronger group being the “host” while the other being small， weak， and the “protected”.” Likewise， in the international society， around the developed countries lives some “immigrant” coexisting with such powerful nations. The Jews are such immigrants living all around the world. They cannot really merge into the normal life of the locals， they cannot be immune to be alienated and marginalized. These hard feelings make them feel like neither an aboriginal nor a Jew.

Herzog is a marginal man living between the cracks. He strived for being a good husband， a good father， and a good friend. But to his despair， the reality forced him to step backwards from time to time. He was alienated in every circle-family， career， and society. He became aware of his helplessness and sorrow of being trapped between the cracks in trying to understand humanity. This is the representation of Herzog’s not knowing where he is and who he is.

2.2.2 Exile in Jewish history

Since early in history， Jewish people suffered great for exiles. The unique exile experiences in Jewish history stamped on all Jews an indelible sense of being homeless. Even having been settled down in the same place for a long time， there is a strong sense of being an affiliate and an immigrant to their residence. Therefore， these feelings almost become the instinct subtle problems of Jewish people. In Herzog， the hero Herzog is such a spiritual picaresque.

In the novel， Herzog experienced a spiritual exile. As an intellectual， Herzog was good at analyzing the society and humanity but did not know how to control the situation and solve the problems. The only thing he could do was to drink from yesterday’s sorrow and fall into a slave of hatred and bitterness. Herzog was trapped in an invisible battlefield， rushing here and there， knocked down time and time again. He wanted to make a difference by destroying the wrong but only ended in the destruction of himself.

After experiencing the spiritual exile， Herzog seemed to understand the fact that the only thing in his control was to change himself， otherwise， the attempt to change anything in the external world would eventually end in vain. Consequently， Herzog was more than a Jew， but a modern human being without any identifiable labels. Bellow skillfully connected the exile in Jewish history with the modern humans’ embarrassing seeking of the sense of belonging.

III. The Explicit Universality in Herzog

Compared with the implicit Jewishness of Herzog， the universality in this character is easier to notice.

3.1 The definition of Universality

The origin of the word could be traced back to philosophy study. In philosophy， universality means the quality of being universal； existing everywhere. In short， universality exists in individuality， and among individuality exists universality.

As a homeless ethnic group， American Jewish writers were deeply influenced by the multi-elemental American culture. Therefore， their literary creation gradually demonstrated the tendency of the narrow themes of Jewishness shifting to the wide themes of humanity. This tendency demonstrates the thematic shift from Jewishness to universality in literary creation.

3.2 The explicit universality in Herzog

In the novel Herzog， many universal realities were displayed. The observer Pro Herzog was a Jew， but he was concerned much more than Jewish business. He was worried about the whole society.

Herzog bore many ordinary characteristics on him， which were even more obvious than his Jewish identity. In this character people could see the silhouette of themselves and these ordinary characteristics reflected many ordinary social problems in America， including people’s spiritual conditions after their political ideals broke into bubbles in the industrialized society， the power relations between American military forces， and the growing absolutism in the American society， etc.

Herzog was an ordinary intellectual cared about the human conditions. His plight was indeed the plight of all ordinary American people， people who lived in a certain period of human history.

3.3 The universal theme of Herzog

As Saul Bellow expressed when awarded the Nobile Prize， “Even when under the poorest circumstances， there is an open passage up to the soul. To get rid of plight is all modern human’s instinctive pursuit and way of living.”

Bellow supported the return in way of introspection， suggesting people gather strength from within themselves. To Herzog， as well as the modern humans， the power to rescue us lies only within ourselves. We have no way and no power to change the confusing and chaotic world， but we have the capability to decide our acts and to keep inner peace. In the novel Herzog Bellow explored the solutions for modern humans and gave us his thoughtful answer. This is the universal theme of Herzog.

IV. Conclusion

As an outstanding American Jewish writer， Saul Bellow has the most profound significance and representativeness. One of his most remarkable contributions is his unique Jewishness in his novels among which Herzog is a representative. It carries explicit universality under the implicit cover of Jewishness. The humanistic theme of introspection and forgiveness surpasses the plight of a Jewish individual. Bellow’s humanistic concern surpasses his Jewish identity and his characters’ Jewish background， and reaches an upmost altitude. The essence of American Jewish writers humanistic concerns is the surpassing over Jewishness to universality， and the exploration from Jewish uniqueness to the common experiences and appeals of all human beings. At the same time，this is Saul Bellow’s contribution to the world literature.

Work Cited：

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作者简介：

胡潇霖，女，（1988～），吉林长春人，吉林大学外国语学院2011级英语语言文学专业硕士研究生，研究方向：文学