Abstract:
Saul Bellow’s novels have rich cultural connotation which is represented through the vivid images created in the novels. The recurring central images of the electric tower and some other tall buildings in the novel More Die of Heartbreak symbolize the devastating power of the industrial civilization, materialism, and pragmatism. The village of Benn’s hometown with “the kitchen of his mother”, the mulberry, and the polar region are the representations of the traditional civilization, humanistic spirit, and its moral value. The sharp contrast between these two groups of images represented by the electric tower and the village respectively suggests that there are intense conflicts between two kinds of morality. The country village is a metaphor for the spiritual homeland of human beings. The protagonist Benn who plays the role of “the catcher in the rye” is the spokesman of the author himself. The study of the images in this novel will promote the understanding of the rich cultural connotation of Saul Bellow’s novels