This is my term paper that I did on Henderson the Rain King.

Henderson the Rain King

            I chose to do my term paper on Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow. The one part that fascinated me throughout the entire book was the voice inside his heart that kept telling him "I want, I want..." While reading the book I thought that this voice was a part of his selfish subconscious. I felt that no matter what Henderson did he would not satisfy this thirst for  greed. After thinking it over and hearing what other students had to say I eventually came to a very different conclusion about the voice. At first I had thought that the voice was telling him that it wants a material object; money, land, or other possessions. Then after careful consideration I believe that the voice was expressing a want to help. Instead of saying "I want possessions," it was trying to say "I want to help." This is what I will try to demonstrate in my paper.

            Very early in the book we find out that Henderson is a very wealthy man. He can be a hard worker when he wants to be but he seldom has motivation to do much of anything. We are told Henderson his worth three million dollars, which by rough estimation, is around twenty two million dollars in today's world.(www.measuringworth.com) To put this in prospective the president of the United States, Barrack Obama, is currently worth ten million dollars. While professional football coach of the Washington Redskins, Mike Shannahan, has a net worth of twenty five million dollars.(www.celebritynetworth.com) It is hard for most people who are not this wealthy to understand how somebody who is wealthy can also be selfish. This is how I felt at first. Not only can this man not find peace of mind, he becomes so distraught that he leaves his family and goes to Africa. When talking to his friend Charlie, he is asked " Where do you want to go?" Henderson replies "All I know is that this isn't the place for me." (Rain King p. 43) Henderson is middle aged and has plenty of money and he has travelled half way across the world to try and heal himself of his distressed state of mind.

            The first people that he meets are the Arnewi. They have a problem with their water source. When Henderson first hears of the Arnewi's problem, he becomes very excited. He thinks that he can use his knowledge to help save the Arnewi's water supply. This is the first time we can see that Henderson truly wants to help this tribe. What I believe tells you more about his good will for this tribe is his reaction when he fails. After blowing up the dam that holds the Arnewi's water, Henderson is devastated. He had come all the way from America and his only wish was to do one good dead and he puts the Arnewi people into a drought. After committing this act Henderson cannot stand to be around the tribe any longer.

            He embarks on a new journey to try and do something right. He and his guide, Romilayu, travel deep into the African jungle to find the Warri people. He was told about this tribe from the group of people he had just left. Henderson is driven to make amends for his actions. He desperately hopes that he will not screw up with the second tribe like he did the first. Henderson will become more important to the Warri people than he could ever hope for.

            After a peculiar entry into the tribe, Henderson and the king of the Warri, King Dahfu, become very close friends. One day the king invites Henderson to a special ceremony, designed to bring rain to the Warri. At this ceremony an important statue cannot be moved, since the statue is not moved there will be no rain. Henderson knows he can move the statue and he asks the king if he can try. Dahfu allows this to happen and once Henderson moves the statue of Mammuh, rain begins to fall. This is when Henderson officially becomes the rain king. He has finally done something to help. After this occasion Henderson never hears the voice in his heart again. I believe that this is because he satisfied his need to help.  Soon after this Henderson leaves to return home. On the trip back to the United States he realizes that he loves his family. Not to say that he did not love them before but now he cannot wait to get home and see them. Also, even though he is middle-aged, he has found motivation to go back to school to become a doctor.

            Thinking back to when Henderson first hears that voice in his heart, it now becomes clear that the "I want" was never a selfish act of the subconscious. Yet a benevolent want to help people in any way that he could. Once he got over his distress he was then able to live his life. It is assumed that he goes back to his family and becomes a better father and husband. He also wants to become a more functional member of society by becoming a doctor. A profession that is all about helping others.