Dangling Man

E490288

Dangling Man is Saul Bellow’s debut novel, a philosophical first-person narrative about an unemployed young man in Chicago awaiting his World War II draft and grappling with alienation and moral uncertainty.

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Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf novel
author Saul Bellow NERFINISHED
authorNationality Canadian-American
centralTheme alienation
existentialism
freedom and responsibility
individual vs society
moral uncertainty
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
form diary novel
genre literary fiction
philosophical fiction
war fiction
hasLiterarySignificance Bellow’s first published novel
hasSubject conscientious objection and duty
philosophical reflection on freedom
social withdrawal
hasTheme bureaucracy and the draft
identity crisis
isolation in urban life
political disillusionment
literaryMovement postwar American literature
literaryStyle introspective
philosophical monologue
psychological
mainCharacter Joseph NERFINISHED
medium print
narrativeForm journal entries
narrativePerspective first-person
notableFor early example of Bellow’s intellectual protagonists
exploration of pre-war existential anxiety
originalLanguage English
placeOfPublication New York City
precedes The Victim NERFINISHED
protagonistEmotion alienation
moral confusion
protagonistOccupationStatus unemployed
protagonistStatus awaiting military draft
publicationYear 1944
publisher Vanguard Press NERFINISHED
settingCountry United States of America
surface form: United States
settingLocation Chicago NERFINISHED
settingPeriod World War II NERFINISHED
timeOfNarration early 1940s

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Saul Bellow notableWork Dangling Man