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86134

The True Self and the Social Selfin Seize the Day: The Case of Wilhelm Adler

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Last updated: 25 Dec 2024

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Abstract

The self of any human being is a parallel between two main domains: the domain of true self and the domain of social self. In Saul Bellow's Seize the Day(1956), the nexus between 'true self' and 'social self' is a disturbed one. Bellow depictssuch relationship within the parent- child social context. Wilhelm's troubled relationship with his father contributes much tohispsychic split.He forges an external ideal tomeet his father's expectations of him as a successful man.This makes Wilhelm an ideal example to Laing ‘false-self system'.In this paper,the researcher employs the findings of R.D. Laing in his pioneering study on‘false-self system' and its distinguished characteristics to analyse Wilhelm's character and to reveal the disturbed relationship with his father. In that manner, the research attempts an interdisciplinary approach that combines a literary and a socio-psychological examination to the novella. The paper devotes the first part to give a theoretical basis for the analysis in the second section of the paper. The last sectionof the paper is to reach a conclusion on whether Bellow's main character issuccessful in realizing his true self or not. In so doing, the paper attempts to answer pivotal questions namely, what triggers a person to seek having a different personality from his own? Is it possible to have an accepted social self by means of pretence and forging personalities? How far is Saul Bellow's main character in Seize the Day a representative of Laing's ‘false-self system' theory?

DOI

10.21608/opde.2016.86134

Authors

First Name

Eman Tharwat Abdo Oulwan

Last Name

Abdo Oulwan

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Volume

61

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

12961

Issue Date

2016-06-01

Receive Date

2020-04-30

Publish Date

2016-06-01

Page Start

283

Page End

293

Print ISSN

1110-2721

Online ISSN

2735-3591

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https://opde.journals.ekb.eg/article_86134.html

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https://opde.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=86134

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10

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Original Article

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1,140

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Journal

Publication Title

CDELT Occasional Papers in the Development of English Education

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https://opde.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

The True Self and the Social Selfin Seize the Day: The Case of Wilhelm Adler

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Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023