A Study Of The "Father" Image In Philip Roth's Works

"Father"is a very important image in Jewish literature. It doesn't only stand for the power of God, but also means greater significance. In The Old Testament, the story of Abraham, Joseph, Mose etc. Jewish Fathers pursuing homeland provided the archetypes of suffering fathers. Influenced by Jewish traditional culture, the traditional writers such as Saul Bellow and Bernard Malamud represent the sufferings of Jewish Father in their works.While Phillip Roth is different from them, he depicts the inheritance of Jewishness other than the powers or sufferings of Father. The thesis study father image in The Ghost writer, American Pastoral, Portnoy's Complaint, Patrimony these four works as the object. The thesis consists of three parts, the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.The introduction represents the general survey of Phillip Roth, and introduces the clue and structure of the thesis.The body includes three chapters.Chapter one analyzes the connotation of Father Image in Jewish culture, and offers a brief introduction of Jewish fathers in other Jewish writers'works. Meanwhile, it discusses the background of Roth's time.Chapter two analyzes the concrete image in the works. There are two kinds of"absent"fathers. One is physical, for example Victory in The Ghost Writer, and the father in Portnoy's Complaint. The other one is a frustrated soul father, Seymou Levov in American Pastoral. Different fathers represent the same relationship model between Father and Son ---- revolt and flee. The depressive youth long for getting rid of the tradition's fetters and handcuffs, but they cannot realize their dream at the same time. So they have to flee and search for the ideal father.Chapter three analyzes the ideal father in the works. One is physical American father Seymou Levov, who was the symbol of successful immigrants'dream. The other one is Lonnof, a famous writer, who was regarded as soul father by Zuckerman.The conclusion sums up the whole thesis. It points out Roth's attitude towards Jewish tradition: absorbing the essence of the foreign culture makes the tradition renew brilliant luster.