Philip Roth, Columbus and Jews

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Philip Roth's book, "Goodbye Columbus" and analyzes it, as well as Roth, by considering whether Roth should be considered a Jewish writer or simply a writer writing about Jews. The paper also considers whether Roth's book is written about Americans who happen to be Jews or Jews who happen to be Americans.

From the Paper:

"As much as the public "enjoyed" and that is not too strong a word, the stories of the Patimkins in his first big successful book, so the critics pounced on an anti-Semitic tinge to the characters and their behavior. "The merits of 'Goodbye Columbus and its author are immediately evident. The novella shows sardonic wit, and the sharp eye of a born writer. The Patimkin way of life with its 'white hair the color of Lincoln convertibles' and the 23 bottles of Jack Daniels, each with a little booklet tied around its neck, decorating the unused bar, has been rendered for all time....But the faults of 'Goodbye Columbus' are also readily visible. The novella has no values to oppose to Patimkin values...Many of the incidents do not advance the action; the end is merely a running-down." Perhaps what this critic missed is the fact that there is no calculated end. The Patimkins continue. That is the whole sardonic point. Nobody really learns anything about change or adapting. Assimilation is not the same as adaptation. In fact, assimilation might lose the Patimkins in the general mainstream of America, and that is not what they seek, nor what Roth implies their purpose in life is."

More papers on Philip Roth, Columbus and Jews:

• Book Review # 106428 : "Philip Roth's "The Human Stain"
• Book Review # 148664 : "Two Philip Roth Books"
• Book Review # 119635 : "Racial Passing in Philip Roth's "The Human Stain"

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