"Mr. Sammler's Planet"

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes Saul Bellow's "Mr. Sammler's Planet" which looks at the world through the cynical, one eye of Jewish Holocaust survivor Artur Sammler. The book has always been controversial and its characters and themes have been charged with being racist in nature. This paper examines whether there is any basis to these charges by exploring the character of Sammler and his stereotypical views on minority groups. The paper finally argues that accusations that the book is racist are groundless, after using several examples from the text to prove it.

From the Paper:

"Told so strongly from the point of view of the protagonist, it is difficult to step back and evaluate the character's actions without becoming tainted with the point of view of the telling itself. Also a factor is the potential manipulation of the plot of the story by Bellow, his conscious choices of the people Sammler interacts with, the ones he ponders during his internal dialogues, and the limited number of people of each race he encounters during the book. Labeling someone a racist is a much easier task when a number of interactions with the same minority can be evaluated, and a pattern of beliefs interpreted and understood."

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