Research Essay

Answer

Role of Dr. Adler and Dr. Tampkin in Wilhelm’s Life

Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day details the story of Wilhelm, a man whose internal and external environments reveal that his life is largely in a crisis. In fact, he appears to have failed in all areas of his life and the world seems to be crumbling down on him. The crises and external failures he goes through leaves him depressed and to a great deal, a mental and social loser. Amid his tribulations, he gets propped by the presence, help, and advice of two antithetical characters, Dr. Adler and Dr. Tampkin.  Reading through the text, there is no doubt that these antithetical characters play a big role in not only offering Wilhelm the much-needed social support, but also towards the development of larger themes within the novella as they relate to Wilhelm’s predicament. This paper explores their roles in this regard.

In the novella, Bellow dramatizes vividly what can be considered a consequence of dehumanization, which is in its basic a moral crisis in which many people today find themselves in. Through Wilhelm’s story, the author recounts the society’s current traumatic condition that is never getting any better by the day. Themes such as materialism, oppression, loss of love, family breakdown, and alienation among others characterize the human condition in general and these can be captured in the context of Wilhelm’s story.  The seriousness, and perhaps more precisely the hopelessness, of Wilhelm’s situation becomes clear when he prays to God as thus:

“Let me out of my trouble. Let me out of my thoughts, and let me do something better with myself. For all the time I have wasted I am sorry Let me out of this clutch and into a different life. For I am all balled up. Have mercy” (Bellow 22).

Without disputing the spiritual or religious significance of this utterance as a prayer, it can be conceptualized to symbolize the helplessness of the situation and Wilhelm’s inability to independently make sound decisions. He seems to have left himself at the mercy of external factors that he cannot control.  In fact, according to him, “there’s really very little that a man can change at will” (Bellow 21). Taking the implication of the above prayer into context as well as Wilhelm’s admission that a man cannot change much at will, the influence of the antithetical characters of Dr. Adler and Dr. Tampkin come into play.

 For Dr. Adler, his involvement with his son happens in the context of father-son relationship, one which illuminates the theme of family conflict in the novella. Against the backdrop of the array of problems Wilhelm is facing, father and son meet at a residence hotel even as the latter hopes to get emotional as well as financial support. Unfortunately, it turns out that the possibility of getting either is diminished since Dr. Adler is a judgmental, selfish, and vain father who feels there is nothing about his son to be proud of. In fact, he is ashamed of him. In spite of that, the relationship between the two can be best understood in the context of their familial unit, which is Jewish American. Importantly, the Jewish heritage places great emphasis on family where the notion of patriarchy takes center stage. However, Wilhelm shows no reverence for it because of his ignorance. As regards the mentioned patriarchy, it is largely expected that Wilhelm will respect his father for his is the head of the family in whom rests the authority and responsibility to guide, counsel, rebuke, and command what happens within the family (Goldman 63). Even as Dr. Adler offers advice to his son, the son is supposed to heed whatever he is told since as per the Jewish tradition a child remains under the maintenance of his father at least up to six years of age (Goldman 24). In the novella, the fact that Wilhelm finds himself in a financial fix and turns to his father for help presents the immediate problem in the text.

The advice and help that Wilhelm receives from Dr. Adler is for the most part in form of rebuke and punishment. This happens be the case even in relation to his habit of drug abuse which plays out when he (Wilhelm) swallows phenaphen before him, knowing very well that he will react in anger. This he does while aware that his father’s patience is running out but his hopelessness has pushed him to a point that he doesn’t care anymore. The running out of Dr. Adler’s patience is evidenced at the hotel when Wilhelm goes to him for help, only for the old man to retort at him, “Go away from me now. It’s a torture for me to look at you, you slob!” (Bellow 117). The act of turning to his father for help reinforces the novella’s thematic purpose as regards the issues of alienation, suffering, and familial bonds and conflicts. Lost kinship is also one of the themes in this vein. Notably, the deteriorated state of the father-son relationship is also symbolized by the fact that the two stay in the same house but in separate rooms. This aspect represents the separation between the two that dates as far back as when Wilhelm quit school and changed his name in defiance of his father. Nevertheless, it is not all lost on Wilhelm that Dr. Adler is his father at the end of the day and he has no option but to turn to him for help and advice. This begs the question: Does Wilhelm turn to Dr. Adler for merely because of their familial relation? Interestingly, no; Dr, Adler is a successful figure who seems to have mastered the art of living in post-war America whereas his son is an unsuccessful who is unable to cope in a world defined my materialism.

 Turning onto Dr. Tamkin, the role he plays in Wilhelm’s life is clear from his (Wilhelm’s) own admission that, “At least Tamkin sympathizes with me and tries to give me a hand, whereas Dad doesn’t want to be disturbed” (Bellow 11). As Shatzky and Taub observe, the straining of relations between Wilhelm and his father prompted him to turn to other figures and leave himself at their mercy, the most notable among them being Dr. Tamkin (32). In such a state and with such an attitude, Dr. Tamkin makes entry into his life, seemingly at the right time and offering exactly what he has been craving for. While the cunningness of Dr. Tamkin seems too clear or apparent, Wilhelm proceeds to involve himself with him by focusing on what he is offering. As Bradbury explains, Tamkin “offers to release [the self as a true soul…that can go with joy], by using money to go beyond money, to pass beyond a stock-market ‘killing’ to a curing, more than material state” (194). Here, a difference is noted between Dr. Adler and Dr. Tamkin: whereas the former focused on material well-being, the latter is concerned with a deeper curing of the soul. Considering Wilhelm’s troubled state, it is not difficult to notice why Dr. Tamkin is such a welcome person in the life of Dr. Adler’s son.

In helping Wilhelm face his troubles, Dr. Tamkin presents as a psychiatrist/psychologist, although there is uncertainty as to his professional credentials. He positions himself in Wilhelm’s life as a father figure, arguably more of a second father to him who also doubles up as a mentor. By so doing, he also reinforces the novella’s thematic purpose in terms of themes such as alienation, suffering, and even materialism. While alienation and suffering can be seen in the same light as in the context of Dr. Adler’s involvement, materialism becomes clear vis-à-vis his speculation on the commodities market and his proposition to invest jointly with Wilhelm. Here, critics would find a reason to claim Dr. Tamkin is opportunistic and cunning, but that would be neither here nor there because the point of focus is the help he gives to the troubled young man.

As already implied, Dr. Tamkin’s help goes beyond materialism to include a psychological aspect whereby he seeks inner peace for Wilhelm. In turn, this also extends to include a spiritual aspect. He talks to him concerning “the elemental conflict of parent and child” that he thinks “won’t end, ever” (Bellow 58). As he offers help in context of a clear father-son conflict, he explains his pursuance of “spiritual compensation” whose value goes beyond that of any financial reward(s) (Bellow 62). Additionally, he is keen to persuade Wilhelm to live the present and forget about all that is past. He reminds him that the past would not do him any good and no matter what his life has been like, he ought to concentrate on the present and make things right. He does not stop there: he explains to him that life is usually a struggle between two types of souls and one only needs to let the right one win. Ultimately, Wilhelm finds peace and realizes that by following Dr. Tamkin’s advice, he could live right again and have all his mistakes and wrongdoings forgiven and “the time wasted…relinquished” (Bellow 74).

 In conclusion, reading through Bellow’s novella, it becomes clear that the antithetical characters of Dr. Adler and Dr. Tamkin play a big role in not only offering Wilhelm much-needed social support, but also towards the development of larger themes within the novella as they relate to Wilhelm’s predicament. Some of these themes include

Bellow, Saul.  Seize the Day. U.S.A.: Penguin Books, 1996. Print.

Bradbury, Malcolm. “The Fifties Novels: The Adventure of Augie March, Seize the Day, and Henderson the Rain King.” Critical Insights: Saul Bellow. Ed. Allan Chavkin. Pasadena: Salem Press. 187-206, 2012. Print.

Goldman, L. H. Saul Bellow’s Moral Vision: A Critical Study of the Jewish Experience. New York: Irvington Publishers, 1983. Print.

Shatzky, Joel, and Taub, Michael (Eds.). Contemporary Jewish-American Novelists: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. London: Greenwood press, 1997. Print.