The Adventures Of Augie March
(Saul Bellow)
This book utilizes a circular plot structure to emphasize that some people cannot change very much. It starts with Augie, a person with a confused identity who has not learned how to trust people or take responsibility for his actions. It ends with Augie in mostly the same situation, but older. Throughout the book, he encounters many different types of people, and his interactions with them highlight his personality traits. Mostly, the book is predictable because Augie never trusts people, and always follows the path that will get him out of having to have a long-term relationship or any responsibilities. He seeks and hopes for a better life, but he isn?t willing to do much to get it. He realizes that this is a character flaw, but he does not try to fix it. Most of the other characters in the book have similar personality traits to Augie (highlighting the traits in him) or have the opposite personality traits (serving as a comparison). He decides eventually that happiness is only a fleeting illusion and he mostly gives up on finding lasting happiness. However, he continues to seek the moments of happiness through the use of friends who also do not have any conception of long-term relationships or responsibilities. They all set up temporary relationships with each other, act mostly on a whim, and sever emotions tied to anything or anyone that could create pain or other negative emotions. For example, for no particularly good reason Augie and Thea leave to go to Mexico, where they are going to hunt lizards with an eagle named Claigula. But when the plan isn?t going so well, Augie turns his back on the eagle he had spent so much time training, the lizards (a possible source of money), and Thea. He simply leaves and never goes back. Eventually, he ends up on a boat, no more enlightened than he was when he was a child and the book began. However, the ?adventures? are often entertaining if the reader does not expect Augie to become chivalrous or responsible.
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