Dr Adler Dr Adler is a significant character in Saul Bellow's - novella Seize the Day As the estranged father of the protagonist Tommy Wilhelm Dr Adler plays a significant role in shaping the narrative's themes of identity disillusionment and the American dream Dr Adler is presented as a complex figure We can understand his characteristics through Tommy's perspective which is inherently inflexible Tommy often condemns his father He portrays Dr Adler as a cold and unsympathetic figure He interprets his father's actions such as withholding financial assistance as acts of cruelty However the reader must constantly question whether Tommy's interpretation of Adler is accurate given his emotional turmoil and tendency to misunderstand his father's intentions Dr Adler's character is that he represents a clash of generational values Adler embodies the traditional American ideals of hard work success and rationalism displaying the self-made man ethos His beliefs are rooted in