Henderson The Rain King Essay

Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow is a story about Eugene Henderson, a middle-aged millionaire who was often drunk, lazy and had inherited all of his money from his father. “From my old man I inherited three million dollars after taxes, but I thought myself as a bum and had my reasons, the main reason being that I behaved like a bum.”(HRK, p.1) Throughout the novel Eugene seems to have some sort of connection with different types of animals, and in some cases he even acts animal like. After constantly hearing a voice in his head saying “I want, I want” he decided to take a journey over to Africa , and during that time he encounters two very different tribes. By the end of his trip, and after everything he has gone through he was able to discover his inner self and satisfy the voice that he has been hearing
He wants to discover a real meaning for life, and a better understanding of himself. When Eugene arrives in Africa he comes across two tribes, and both of them contribute to helping him discover a little about himself. When visiting the Arnewi tribe he meets Willatale who is the queen. When Eugene heard that the queen liked seeing him he said “This is simply great. This is a big moment for me. The skies are opening up. It’s a great privilege to be here”. (HRK, p. 81) It shows that he is was truly happy about taking the trip over to Africa . The second tribe is the one where he is truly able to discover the reason he took the journey. After developing a strong relationship with king Dahfu he starts to realize what the voice that he was hearing was trying to say. “I had a voice that said, I want! I want? I? It should have told me she wants, he wants, they want. And more-over, its love that makes reality reality. The opposite makes the opposite.” (HRK, p.