of place and lonely he feels Wilhelm always fights with his fears and pressures His father Dr Adler does not help him Wilhelm learns the hard way that The money makes the difference Tommy Wilhelm understands that money has created distance between him and his father Dr Adler sees him as a failure who should solve his own problems So the title Seize the Day becomes ironic because Wilhelm cannot take control of his life Urgency and Pressure The title also shows the urgency and pressure Tommy Wilhelm feels Wilhelm feels the urgency and pressure that he must seize the day and improve his financial conditions Otherwise he might not survive The novel takes place in one single day But on this day Wilhelm feels many emotions realizations and struggles He is desperate to find some hope and relief either by getting money through Dr Tamkin s investment advice or by getting sympathy from his father At years old separated from his family Wilhelm knows time is running out for him The narrator says Oh this was a day of reckoning on which he would look at the truth This shows how Wilhelm feels the pressure to act quickly to change his life This fact matches the title Seize the Day and creates tension in the story Dr Tamkin s Mantra The title s Seize the Day also becomes Dr Tamkin s mantra of manipulation Dr Tamkin is a tricky and unreliable character He manipulates Wilhelm Tamkin tells Wilhelm to live in the present and not worry about the past or future He says The past is no good to us The future is full of anxiety Only the present is real the here-and-now Seize the day Tamkin s advice sounds good but it is manipulative It leads Wilhelm to invest all his savings in the risky stock market without thinking about the risks So Tamkin s message shows the idea of seizing the day But it puts Wilhelm into more trouble instead of helping him Wilhelm s Emotional Release At the end of the novel Wilhelm has an emotional breakdown at a stranger s funeral He cries openly He lets out all the fear and sadness he kept inside The narrator says He sank deeper than sorrow toward the consummation of his heart's ultimate need This means Wilhelm finally releases his deepest emotions Although he does not succeed in life this moment becomes his way of seizing the day He accepts his pain and reality which is a small victory in his broken life In conclusion the title Seize the Day is both ironic and fitting for the novel While Wilhelm s life is filled with failure and struggle the novel shows his attempt to grasp the day s opportunities In the process he becomes manipulated and realizes the hard realities of life