本論文擬從倫理學角度探討現代人的生活方式與主體性的建構之間存在的裂縫。索爾•貝婁《抓住這一天》中的湯米•威爾漢的職業屢次失敗、婚姻也受到挫折,父子關係更陷入僵局,因而導致感情調適與生存的重大危機。由於文學作品的細節能夠鋪陳出具體複雜的人際關係,包括父子之情、家庭倫理及商業道德等,所以本論文透過倫理學的思惟,期望能對現代人的生存困境得到較宏觀的剖析與視野。
In Saul Bellow's Seize the Day we are introduced to a man who cannot be the master of his days-Tommy Wilhelm. As Tommy refuses to grow up or adjust himself for the mere sake of survival, he becomes his own worst enemy. But he resorts all his misfortune to God, or Fate. My paper aims to probe into Tommy Wilhelm's character and find out possible causes for his destruction. The issues to be discussed will be ”What makes a man's character?” and ”Who really should be responsible for Tommy's failure?” Ethical perceptions made by Aristotle, Michel Foucault, and Martha C. Nussbaum will be offered for a dialogical analysis.