Study Questions
What, in the end, frees Wilhelm?
What is Wilhelm's basic struggle?
What is Dr. Tamkin's role in the novel?
What kind of hero is Wilhelm? Is he an anti-hero?
Are there "villains" and "victims" in the novel? If so who are they and why or why not?
Discuss the novel in terms of oppositions and doubles. How does Bellow structure his novel? How and why does he discuss opposing forces at work within Tommy and in the world around him?
What is the role of "the city" in the novel? What kind of character, in other words, is the urban landscape?
What is the role of psychology in the novel?
