The Absurd Hero in American Fiction Author:David D. Galloway Subtitle: Updike, Styron, Bellow, Salinger. Chapters deal with the myth/Camus, the saint/Updike, the tragic hero/Styron, "as Picaro"/Bellow, & the love epic/Salinger["Catcher..." about the phonies the hero met in prep schools;about love: "Franny & Zooey" & the Christ-like "Seymour" short story are about love in a "God is Dead" atmosphere.