The Assistant belongs to the philosophical school of literature called Absurdism. The main feature of that approach is that the main character in an Absurdist novel should exist in a world where their characteristics are radically mismatched to their environment, leading to an existential epiphany. This is certainly the case for Frank, but the novel shows an interesting, ironic twist. Instead of realizing that his life is meaningless and despairing, Frank merely adopts the persona of a person for whom life was meaningful, and the product is that Frank's character becomes moral and ethical, finally considering other people's points of view. This novel is unexpected and sometimes random, and always interesting.
Technically, the novel seems to be a comedy in form. That doesn't mean that it is made of jokes. It just means that the structure of the novel is tragic in nature, but instead of ending with the aftermath of a tragic downfall, the novel ends with a marriage. In The Assistant, this aspect of comedy is represented by the healing relationship between Helen and Frank. The two had come so close to a meaningful romance, but Frank's heinous character flaws lead him to rob himself of love by raping Helen, even though she had decided to give herself to him willingly. Then, he has a major character change, and tries to make up for his sins. This conversion is shown to be serious when Frank has himself circumcised and converts to Judaism.
Frank's tragic cycle is not the only one in the novel, either. Morris also undergoes a tragic cycle. His hubris is simply that he doesn't accept help, and he should, because he's kind of clumsy and he's severely accident prone.
In fact, Morris's tragic fate is another good example of how this novel is essentially a comedy. Instead of giving Morris an epic death, Morris's downfall is his own lack of judgment. He gives himself pneumonia by forgetting to wear his coat. That's not the first time his foolishness has nearly ended his life—he is constantly putting his life in danger through little stupid mistakes.
Ultimately, these characters are intended to show a humorous, yet gloomy depiction of human life. For those that belong in the world, like Morris, there are numerous pitfalls and challenges, and for Morris, life is suffering. And for those that aren't programmed to be successful in the world, like Frank, life is essentially the same. Both men are consistently tripping over themselves, trying to make sense of a world that seems to want the worst for them.
