Memory and the Past
Wilhelm constantly tries to find solace in his past, allowing himself to walk down memory lane on multiple occasions when the present tires him. A potent symbol of all that was once good in his life is his dead mother. Wilhelm remembers happy times with his mother to escape his distressing present. Wilhelm thinks his mother was the better parent who always supported him, while his father never fully could and certainly will not now. He also believes that his mother was an exemplary wife and mother and that his wife, Margaret, can never hope to equal. This theme of past or memory contrasts with the very message in the title of the novella, Seize the Day. While Tamkin advocates celebrating the present, Wilhelm clearly struggled to find anything in his present life worth celebrating and hence loves hiding in his memories.
The "American Dream"
Most people would agree that the ultimate American dream is being successful in life—mostly by becoming rich. This is reflected in the history of immigration to this country, in which millions of people have come here with the desire to escape persecution, fulfill their dreams, and, yes, become wealthy and successful. It is also something that American citizens like Wilhelm (whose grandfather was the original immigrant of the family) endeavor to achieve. Wilhelm first tries to achieve this by being an actor in Hollywood, then playing the stock market. The Dream is not attainable for Wilhelm, and Bellow reveals how the pursuit of it can destroy a person.
Failure
Tommy Wilhelm is the exemplar of utter failure: he didn’t finish school, then failed in Hollywood, in his corporate job, in his marriage, with his kids, in the stock market, and in the relationship with his father. Some of this happened to him, and Bellow indicts capitalism and American culture, but much of it is due to his own weakness of will, martyr complex, and laziness.
Suffering
The theme of suffering is quite conspicuous throughout the novella in the characters Wilhelm, Dr. Adler, Margaret, and even Catherine. Wilhelm is constantly suffering from financial troubles, being away from his kids, being harshly tormented by Margaret for alimony money, his father not assisting him in any way, his failure to fulfill his potential, and probably losing the love of his life. Dr. Adler seems to be most at peace among the characters but he suffers from his children’s failure and Wilhelm angers him often. To Wilhelm, Margaret is the vengeful wife who makes Wilhelm suffer because he left her, but her suffering is real. Catherine, Wilhelm’s sister, is an aspiring painter still in pursuit of the American Dream in her forties and suffering from financial troubles as well. Suffering is embedded in a society that privileges moneymaking over real relationships, appearances over reality, the shallow over the substantial.
Deception
Maurice Venice and Dr. Tamkin are the two frauds who embody the theme of deception in the novella. Maurice Venice tricked Wilhelm at a young age and had him drop out of college to go to Hollywood. Later, Wilhelm found out that he had been a fraud all along. Dr. Tamkin keeps advising Wilhelm from a psychologist’s point of view on how he should behave, but at the end of the day Wilhelm figures out that Tamkin has been bamboozling him all along and probably none of his stories are true. Wilhelm is able to be deceived because he does not have a strong sense of self; he is weak and self-interested, easily swayed by dreams of fame and fortune.
The City
The city is a living, breathing organism in this text—coursing, flowing, evolving. Wilhelm feels overwhelmed by it, sometimes in a way that connects him to the masses of humanity, filling him with abundant love, but other times crushed and oppressed. He thinks he needs to get out of it, and the reader can see that is because he does not have enough of a sense of self to preclude his being swallowed up by it.
Father and Son
Dr. Adler and Wilhelm have a miserable relationship, or at least this one day suggests they do. It is a relationship characterized by years of misunderstanding, suspicion, envy, disdain, and more. Without Mrs. Adler/Wilhelm's mother, there seems to be nothing holding them together but the bloodline. They seem doomed to repeat the same conversation day after day—Wilhelm whines, his father is cruel, Wilhelm tries to defend himself, his father is angry. They are a familiar type—a son who wishes to "supplant" his father (at least in terms of being the success of the family), a father who resents his lackluster son and wishes to live in his old age in solitude from his grasping family—and nothing is new under the sun.
