Fear-economic difficulties-aid from usa.intrusion of American lifestyle and mass-culture. Consumer society. Former values substituted by material values. Helplessness in the fae of the bomb. No longer possible to defend oneself, one's family. Iron curtain. Europe cut in two, automically weaponed superpowers in control, impossible to decide the destiny of one's county. Doom, pessimism. The philosophical novel. Existentsialism. Wiliam golding and iris murdoch. Existentsialsm-general problem of existence. Always a subject of literature. Entered the realm of philosophy. A merging of philosophy and literature. Albert camus, jean paul sartre-ideas through fiction. Iris murdoch-philosopher by education. Purpose of novel: to analyse ideas. Aritficial fictional world. Characters-express ideas. Parable, allegory, fable. Loneliness, impossibility of communication. The tragedy of existence. The total loneliness of
the media. But herzog is not only critical of the government but he is also disgusted by the middle class, believes that most of them have morally fallen, their desire in life is greed. Herzogs brother. Herzog thinks that such qualities as mercy, compassion, kind heartedness are very rare in the modern world. All in all he believes that values and ideas that reign in america are worthless. At the same time herzog as an intellectual he denounces existentsialsm, believes that it degrades man, deprives man of self confidence. Existentsialism makes man accept the idea of social inevitability. Herzogs attitude never takes the form of active social protest. He doesn't do anything about his dissatisfaction. At one point he even wants to put his mind to sleep. This is extreme form of protest for an intellectual, because he has to make ideas, this would be the death of him. We get a small glimpse of hope that the crisis is over.
annaabi.ee 
