Collapse: The Inevitable Fate of the Little People in a Money Society dedicated to ganila --Preface evergreen Money reigns supreme is the hallmark of a capitalist society.There is no caring between people anymore, nothing exists and nothing has meaning except "money".The novels of contemporary American writer Robert Lieberman clearly reveal this point of view. In the book, Nudelman, the protagonist in the book, finally uttered a desperate cry after struggling in the society in the United States, which is known as the richest society in the world: "All I need is a little help, a word of encouragement...but they Where exactly?" Nudelman is a typical tragic microcosm of a money society, and his journey towards collapse fully demonstrates the various disadvantages of a money-centered society.

The preface of the novel quotes a passage from John Kenneth Golbliss' Affluent Society: "It cannot be said that wealth cannot do good, and it cannot be said that wealth cannot do harm. It is often said, but it is never There is generally persuasive evidence to support this claim.” He questioned the meaning of “money” in wealthy societies.If there is only one absolute authority governing people's thoughts and behaviors in a society, no matter whether this absolute authority is money or power, the moment when this absolute authority reaches its peak is the moment when it begins to degenerate and collapse.

The reason why Nudelman slipped step by step from a prestigious professor to the bottom of society is because he lost the ability to earn wealth.His tragic fate began with unemployment, and three years of unemployment turned him into a downright poor man.The huge drop in economic status led to a sharp decline in his social status and prestige.When he was a self-reliant professor, he had no worries about food and clothing, was healthy in body and mind, and was respected by others;No one came to care about him, and no one came to help him.He sent out a call for help to the society in the name of "Save Nudelman Foundation", but received no response. "He does not buy valuables, new clothes, new furniture, household utensils and toys", and regards this economic policy of saying "no" as a life-saving straw that saves money and survives, But still unable to maintain the most basic life.In order to survive, he even sacrificed his dignity and was employed by his former colleague Martin Genz to endure their family's insult to him.

Having encountered such misfortune in life, the spirit must also fall into the same situation.After three years of no income, Nudelman began to envy those who managed to earn some money, and even did deceitful and opportunistic things.His reputation is discredited, and everyone hates him.In a society where money is used as a measure of personal worth, he has deep anxiety and fear. The dream of getting rich cannot be realized, and Nudelman often has hallucinations of being suddenly attacked by thieves, homosexuals, robbers, and murderers, because the society of wealth inequality is full of these things.Hallucinations, whether beautiful or terrifying, are the spiritual reflection of social reality in people.Surrealist painter Dali's fantasy masterpiece "Prediction of War" foretells the horror of the upcoming war, and Nudelman's hallucinations also foretell the extreme spiritual terror.In this kind of society, tension and depression make everyone feel insecure; the string is tensed in the heart, and at some point, the string will be torn off.Arnold's suicide, Bernie Kaufman's death, and Nudelman's dream of breaking the sky all show the tremendous pressure on the spirit of this money-oriented society.

From the people and society around him, he can't find any warmth, and all he sees is the indifference ruled by money.From the eyes of his old colleague Martin Gentz, he felt deep contempt; the communication with the neighbor Soski's family was full of tense war atmosphere; even his own mother was unwilling to let him borrow his residence.As a representative of society, the vigilante never really cared about him except to monitor and follow him.The double pressure of body and mind made him feel hopeless. All that happened to Nudelman was based on the fact that he was no longer favored by wealth.Once famous, but now impoverished, he has a clearer understanding of the essence of the so-called rich society-"money is the master of everything".As he himself put it very poignantly in a very ironic tone: "As an American, I am dimly aware that there is nothing you can get for free except gonorrhea."

After waking up, one either resists or survives in numbness.Nudelman, who is physically weak and strong-willed, sometimes lets his spirit and thoughts separate from himself, to mock and criticize the society that is incompatible with him, and sometimes let his spirit and thoughts integrate with the people and society around him, Together to create a dream of a rich society. Nudelman, unable to resist the money society, had to numb himself and create American-style dreams together with Bernie Kaufman, Leo and other little people in the rich society like him.Nudelman worshiped Bernie Kaufman as a true hero of the wealthy society, and when Nudelman was cornered and pinned his last hope in life on him, Bernie Kaufman suddenly broke and died in poverty .In fact, Bernie Kaufman, who claimed to have published "How I Became a Millionaire", was never rich, deceived himself in his dreams, and shattered Nudelman's dream.

In the torment of life, Nudelman reluctantly chose the path of compromise with this society.He "wanted to live a real life, to let nature take its course and stop working hard, stop giving up on himself and accomplish nothing, stop waiting for others to save him, and stop expecting miracles to happen."Because he vaguely realizes that it is impossible for a small person to allow the society to accommodate him, the society will always run according to its own development track, and the individual is very insignificant; whether you live or die, it is silent and does not affect the overall situation.If you want to avoid disaster yourself, you have to adapt to this society.He thought so and did so, but what did he get?All he needed was a little help, a word of encouragement, and he couldn't get it.Angrily and desperately, he questioned the people around him and the vigilante: "Where were they when I needed them most? Did they leave me forever? Did I really heal and become a What am I supposed to be?" In this indictment, we deeply feel the sadness of a small person in a wealthy society.

This novel breaks through the style of popular foreign novels in the past.The author adopts the stream-of-consciousness narration method and breaks the extension relationship between time and space. The wonderful details and dialogues are integrated with the author's original humor, which makes the reading endlessly memorable.The use of a large number of metaphors arouses readers' deep thinking.Goobsville, a beautiful town, is a haven for wealthy society, and whenever Nudelman encounters setbacks outside, he can't help but want to return here.However, the escape is temporary after all, and Goobswell, as part of the wealthy society, cannot save Nudelman from his tragic fate.Bernie Kaufman brings all the beauties of a wealthy society to life, and performs so well that it turns out to be nothing.The vigilante is a mask of the society, blatantly distorting black and white. Apart from performing the tasks of tracking, surveillance, and interrogation, they never know what real concern is.Nudelman's alleged antisocial thinking was documented in the vigilante's report.Nudelman saw clearly the disaster that the money society brought to him, and realized that what the society pays attention to is not people but money.When his words and deeds revealed this idea, the vigilante as a representative of the money society claimed: "Nudelman is insane and his actions are out of touch with reality. His repeated emphasis on 'economic collapse', 'collapse of the educational system' and 'Society collapsing' is but a poor ploy by him to avoid acknowledging the fact that it is he, not 'society', that is crumbling. Only when he is sober does he admit that he is a 'social misfit'. The 'structure of rotting society' that emerges from the shapeless phantom of despair has never been true." The vigilante's report concluded that Nudelman had absolutely no hope of fully returning to normalcy.His eccentric writing, his self-examination and self-medication only made an already deteriorating condition even more hopeless.Nudelman's current situation has nothing to do with his own body and mind, and has nothing to do with the people and society around him, just because "he couldn't even keep a job, and he couldn't even find a job selling bread when there was a famine."They were indifferent to Nudelman's own experience and state of mind, but insisted that he confess his negligence, followed and monitored him, and strictly prohibited him from continuing to write critical articles criticizing his acquaintances, the economic and social systems, or the American way of life. And forced Nudelman to return to normal society in accordance with the requirements and methods of the vigilante committee.

Nudelman experienced the helplessness after struggling, the pain after waking up, and the sorrow after resistance, but he still couldn't find his own way out, and he had deep doubts about this society: Who is going to collapse?What exactly caused such a crash?Nudelman is the epitome and symbol of thousands of little people, and his tragedy is also the tragedy of thousands of little people in rich society. It has profound sociological significance.It tells people that the relationship between individuals and society is interdependent.In the process of social development, individuals need to dedicate all their wisdom and talents, and when individuals encounter difficulties, society should lend a helping hand without hesitation.Nudelman's tragedy is mainly caused by the society. When he needs the help of the society most, the society is far away from him, which leads to the confrontation between the individual and the society.This is the real reason for Nudelman's tragedy, and also the broad realistic significance shown in this novel.