Dr. Adler in seize the day

Dr. Adler is the father of the protagonist Tommy Wilhelm of the novel ‘Seize the Day’ by Saul Bellow. Dr. Adler is a rich person, but he is stern, proud and heartless. He is always concerned with his style, self-love and social status. His self-love is of greater importance to him, than love and affection for his son. His self-love originates from his accumulating money and his success in the worldly affairs. He loves money above everything. 

In course of his conversation with a friend, Mr. Perls, he praises his son much. He told a lot of lies to Mr. Perls with the intention of impressing him. He did so to maintain his social status and style. Money is holy and beautiful to him. He is a heartless and unemotional and  unaffectionate father. His relationship with his son is one of confrontation, of alienation and of detachment. 

His attitude towards his son, Wilhelm served as a torment to Wilhelm’s mind. Dr. Adler is not satisfied with Wilhelm for his changing his name when he went to Hollywood to try his luck as an actor. He deprives his son of his love and affection. Wilhelm is in a financial crisis, which his father can easily solve. But when Wilhelm approaches his father for financial help, Dr. Adler refuses to extend any help to him; he rather blames him for his failure in life. He spoke to Wilhelm in a cruel, non-chalant, detached and disapproving manner. He did not show any fatherly sympathy for his helpless condition. Dr. Adler actually symbolizes the bad effects of commercialism — selfishness, meanness, loss of love, sympathy, fellow-feeling and benevolence, after the post-war world.