Augie March And Make-believe Theme

The plot of Augie March like Marlow the principal protagonist of Joseph
Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness is a symbolic figure representing the values of love
of knowledge and spirit of adventure. Morlow by nature is an observer of human life
and a thoughtful student in his philosophical approach to human life. By his brooding and
meditating upon what he observes and sees he gains to know the savagery and
primitivism upon a civilized man. His experiences in the dark continent Aftrica both with
white and blacks he come to grips with the fact that barbarism has its influence upon a
civilized man for their greed for money. What for Marlow African’s riches and native
black inhabitants contrive to leave a long lasting impression on whites and their total
transformation into imperialistic material power mongers with their diabolic
commercial greedy desires the same transformation in the heart and mind of Augic for
such a material advancement in the civilized society called America, was brought out
by Bellow in this Novel.

The dual aspect of Africa is the physical riches and uncanny savage rituals. In the
case of America the dual existence is the physical and political aspects of America. In
addition to this there is a figurative America as a state of mind of Augie.

The very first sentence of this novel strikes this key mote of the figurative
America as a state of mind. When Augie makes such a remark.

“I am an American Chicago born, -Chicago that sombre city- and go at things

as I have taught myself, free-style, and will make the record in my own way, first to
knock, first admitted, sometimes an innocent. But a man’s character is his fate says
Heraclitus and in the end there isn’t any way to disguise the nature of knocks by a
Coustical work on the door or gloving the knuckles”. (The Adventures of Augie March
- Page-1 chap- I).

Against this background of such sombre Chicago city Augie. He comes an ideal
recruit to fulfil things invented by other as real matter of this personal version. His
invention and special thing was simplicity. Whereas other expected him to perform
complex deeds. Such deeds for the chose thing demand courage and intensity and a
feeble being like Augie could not take it for long. He had no guts in his self to deform
himself for others and cause terror on these one who pass on him out of his make-
believe appearance. In Augie’s life many one of inventors, artists men and woman of
Machiavellian tendencies try their best to recruit him for their sake and make him play
a supporting role and sustain him in the make-believe appearance.

It is in the context the real self of Augie with all his love, care, concern and
sympathies for humanity out of his simplistic life style is forced to cross. The axial
line and serve among the Machiavellian – like Grandma Lausch, Einhorm, Mrs.
Renling, Simon March, Thea Fenchal, Hyme a Baste Shaw, Stella Chosmey and
Minton Chian . All of them are either liars or bitches or hypocrites on knowalls
surrounding him try their best to mould him to their cast and make him appear out
of their inventive realities as real realities in his make- believe appearance.

But Augie’s figurative state of mind that in his real America as found
expressed in his Jewish mind chooses the element of godliness but rejects the social
elements surrounding him to shape, Augie accepts his make- believe existence and
unravels the messianic vision of their family ties, Their physical features along with
their hard and sad hum our. That is why he joculasly thus says.

There’s too much of everything of this kind, that’s come home to me toomuch
history and culture to keep track of, too many details, too much news, too much
examples, too much influence, too many guys who to tell you to be as they are, and
all this hugemess, abundance, turbulence, Niagara falls torrent. Which who is supposed
to interpret me?. (Page 455 - The Adventures of Augie March).

It is at this context alone Augie slowly realizes the worth of ‘dertiny

moulders’ and comes to grips with one’s independent fate. This picaresque hero Augie
to realize the worth of indepentent fate has to cross through various stages in life in
the following manner.
 He works as a stock boy in a department store, sells trivic in a railway
station, steals and sells text books, begins his university education becomes a coal
salesman, enters the fringes of the underworld, helps to manage a professional fighter
taken care of dogs close for the socially elite, falls in love twice, becomes a union
organizer, train an eagle to catch lizards at Mexico, skirts the edges of joining
Trotsky’s cause, joins the Merchant Marine, and to finally marries and settles in paris,
where he is last seere participating in some form of shady international business. (The
novels of sauls Bellow- p. 86)

It is through his various shapes of a vocation of his make- believe

appearances he experiences the impact of all there interaction with in his walls fo his
being. And all high conversations take place within the walls in an introvertical manner.
He realizes that one has to look more truth. And less for enjoyment, more for
consciousness and less for self immersion.

Out of such a transcendent reality he seen an insight into the axial line’ the
self of the individual and disturbing selves of other Machiavellian trying their best
to make him an ideal recruit for their inventions of realities. He thus says.

Even his pains will be joy if they are true, even his helplessness will not take
him away from his power, even meandering will not take him away from himself,
even the big social jokes and hoaxes need not take ridiculous even disappointment after
disappointment need not take away his love. Death will not be terrible to him if life is
not. The embrace of other true people will take away his dread of fast change and short
life. (The Adventures of Augie March- P. 455)

He has realized wisdom but he is not able to live up to it. But it does not negate its
validity. That is why he has joined world war II which is not another escape from
the self but an affirmation of his self’s service to society. So far society out of
recruiting him as an ideal servant out of trying its best to make him appear real
though he a hoax or pseudo for getting things through him to its best he as a
picaresque hero drifts himself one after another with no evident arc, or hint on to
where his adventures are leading. He lives like everyman in this chaotic world and
improves on the sense of Every man, as an autonomous creation which, is in control
of his own, independent fate. It is in his emergence of a being of independent fate.
Bellow exposes the alienating forces of the American city and also its revealing
factors of many opportunities that it offers.

Augie’s love affair with at least four women is worth to he mentioned at this
level. Initially his calf love to a wealthy cousin of his brother simon’s wife got
aborted on account of a scandal not of his fault.

Thus he developed intimacy with a Greek hotel maid, Sophie that did not last long
due to the interference of Thea.

It was during his stay in the rich house hold of Mrs. Renling he had a chance to
meet Thea and the prospects of his love on her would take him to dizzy heights out
of the forecast of the Mrs. Renling that make him fall head strong in love. Though he
had a fascination for her sister at the early stage his love for then deepened widened
and also heightened, all due to Mrs. Renling’s encouragement so on this maddened
love ended in a split at Mexico while he, out of his sympathy gave a help drive to
another beneavel woman by name Stella.

Even with stella he could not continue his love, since she as an actress
spent many nights on theatres causing to sit alone biting his nails. He renewed his
old love intimacy with Sophie till the advent of his joining into merchant navy that
heads to New York . There Stella meets him and both get tarried of their relation. They
decided to Settle at Paris, he to engage in a shady business and she to continue
her stage performance.

Through out his adventure Augie learns many things. His education out of his
experience as in Marlow in Conrad. The heart of Darkness Causes him to stumble
on the primitive element with in man that for comfortable stay in this world
material gains are essential for which straight ward business and commerce is of no
value but a shady transaction is a must factor. Primitivism in man for exploration
of wealth and power is there among whites out of their exploration and
exploration among blacks. This is the forte of Conrad.

Even among civilized men’s survival is possible with certain bright patches of
prosperty that is possible only. When a man like Augie with his love for society is
possible only when he resorts to a moderate deviation from lawful activities out of his
nuances of knowing. “Stealing with in law”.

As an American that for a Jewish American Bellow advocates the essential

evil pervading in this universe and also with in man that natural law and human law
have to have safety values to flow excess of evil in order to preserve, sustain and
sublimate the good in nature, and in man and also in his living conditions.

What is ironic in this novel that Augie has all heroic qualities such as
intelligence, compassion and clear observation he fails to live like a hero. It is the
matter of love that elevates the heroic trait of a character. In the case of him he falls in
love twice – The first one totally collapse- that in his affair with thea. The next, his affair
with Stella in slowly failing. Another important flaw in his character in that all other
characters in this novel are committed beings. They have a goal in their lives. Of course
they have ot recruit Augie to achieve their success without giving credence to his
real taste for Simplicity, thereby making him gape at complexity and making
themselves victims of confusions and confoundation that is his fault is his
withdrawal syndrome. Instead of chasing the vague better fate, with his independent
fate he has limited his pursuit with what he considers to be what he deserves.

Through him Bellow makes a case study of a person whose sharp mind and
pure ideals are of no value of they do not make a match against an intense pursuit
and a clear understanding of his relationship with others.

This Novel is named as one of the 100 best novel in the English language by TIME
Magazine and by Modern Library.
 WORKS CITED

Daniel Fuchs’s “Saul Bellow Vision and Revision”.

Ram Prakash Pradhan’s “The Woman in the Novels of Saul Bellow”.

G.Neelakanthan’s ”Saul Bellow”.

Anu Shukla’s “The Novels Of Saul Bellow”.

By,

S. Daniel Devaraj ,

Ph.D Scholar,

St. Joseph’s College,

Trichy.