''Dangling Man'' is a 1944 novel by

Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...

. It is his first published work.

Plot summary

Written in diary format, the story centers on the life of an unemployed young man named Joseph, his relationships with his wife and friends, and his frustrations with living in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and waiting to be drafted. His diary serves as a philosophical confessional for his musings. It ends with his entrance into the army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and a hope that the regimentation of army life will relieve his suffering. Along with Bellow's second novel '' The Victim'', it is considered his "apprentice" work.

Reception

Some critics, including

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer, literary critic, and journalist. He is widely regarded as one of the most important literary critics of the 20th century. Wilson began his career as a journalist, writing ...

and Kenneth Fearing, criticized the novel's lack of a definite plot, but praised Bellow's depiction of what they saw as the characteristic features of the generation of American intellectuals raised during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. ''Dangling Man'' can be seen as a

superfluous man __NOTOC__ The superfluous man (, ''líshniy chelovék'', "extra person") is an 1840s and 1850s Russian literary concept derived from the Byronic hero. It refers to a man, perhaps talented and capable, who does not fit into social norms. In most c ...

narrative, raising interesting parallels with Turgenev's ''The Diary of a Superfluous Man'' and exploring the 19th-century Russian literary concept through a contemporary American experience. Irving S. Saposnik, in ''The Centennial Review'', wrote that "None of Saul Bellow's other novel's (''sic'') has perplexed his critics more than his first novel, ''Dangling Man''.

References in other works

The title ''Dangling Man'', an episode of the television show ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'', references the work.

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, as portrayed by Josh O'Connor, compares himself to Joseph during the episode.

External links

Summary of Dangling Man on saulbellow.org

References

Novels by Saul Bellow 1944 American novels Novels set in Chicago Vanguard Press books 1944 debut novels {{1940s-novel-stub