International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(4): 52 - 58 (2009) CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org Subversion of Modernist Discourse in Saul Bellow’s Work Sima Farshid, Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch, Iran Abstract: Taken as a whole, modernist discourse sounds intrinsically pessimistic, and most modernist works of art present the modern world as a bleak, barren abyss where human civilization faces its elimination. This nihilistic discourse has been somehow challenged by some postmodern writers one of whom is the prominent post-war American novelist Saul Bellow who resists the inherent pessimism of modernist discourse in most of his works. Despite his keen awareness of the deep-seated problems of modern life, Bellow defies the modernist view that this is the end of time and we are living in a ghastly abyss. To help his readers overcome nihilistic outlooks according to which modern life is a spiritual void, Bellow makes painstaking efforts, because he is intensely mindful of the forces that intimidate such efforts in the modern world. Nevertheless he attempts to expose that the alleged futility of modern life can be eliminated by making endeavors to regain our ostensibly missing human dignity. Therefore he can be reckoned an idealistic writer whose profound sensitivity to the modern malaise does not impel him to admit defeat, rather to resist, challenge and eradicate it through his art. Key Words: modernism, nihilism, philosophic idealism, moral idealism, Introduction The winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1976, Saul Bellow (1915- 2005) is one of the prominent post-war American novelists who have resisted modernist discourse to a great extent, in spite of being influenced by such outstanding modernist artists as Joyce, Woolf and Faulkner. Like some other major postmodern literary figures, Bellow challenges the pessimistic discourse of the modernist movement that was the upshot of various factors – ranging from the impact of such impressive thinkers as Nietzsche and Heidegger to the disastrous effects of the World War I on European mindset. In most of his works, Bellow resists the nihilistic view of modernism according to which the present time is that of the decline of civilization and the modern world is a dreadful, gruesome abyss where everything is repulsive and sickening. He has made conscientious efforts, however, to help his readers overcome that gloomy outlook, because he is intensely aware of the forces that intimidate such efforts in the modern world. By facing those forces, instead of denying them, he attempts to expose that the alleged void and futility of modern life can be eliminated by making endeavors to regain our ostensibly missing human dignity. Therefore he can be considered an idealistic writer whose insightful sensitivity to the problems of modern life does not impel him to admit defeat, rather to make efforts to overcome them. As an artist, Bellow feels a kind of commitment for himself for depicting human problems, because he believes that ‘art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos’ (interview with Harper 14), subsequently the artist has a ‘cultural and spiritual mission which is to be carried through the medium of art’ (Morahg 108). The significance of that ‘mission’ becomes more crucial when one takes into account the country of which Bellow is a citizen, where