Studuy On Philip Roth’s Later Novels From The Perspective Of Trauma Theory

Philip Roth is one of the most significant, accomplished, and prolific Americannovelists of the Post-World War II period. He is the author of over31books, and“his texts serve as both snapshots and critiques of contemporary culture from WorldWar II to post-9/11America”. In summer2001, Time magazine chose Philip Roth as“America’s Best Novelist”. On top of the many book awards, Roth’s work in the pasttwenty years has revitalization within literary criticism.This thesis chooses his later works including The Dying Animal (2001), The PlotAgainst America (2004), Exit Ghost (2007), and the tetralogy—Everyman (2006),Indignation (2008), The Humbling (2009) and Nemesis (2010) to study the traumatichistory in them. By drawing on trauma theory, this thesis emphasizes how Rothillustrates the disruptive effect of trauma and reveal how Roth’s traumas disclose afundamental truth about America and its origins.This thesis consists of an introduction, the main body and a conclusion. Its maincontents are as follows:The first part is introduction, which introduces Philip Roth’s works, countlessawards he obtained and the influence he achieved. And then points out thesignificance of the study on his later works from a perspective of trauma theory. Atlast the chapter makes a literature review of Philip Roth studies in the United Statesand in China, ending with a study conception.The second part is the main body, which is made up of five chapters:Chapter One first introduces trauma theory and the historical development oftrauma conceptualization, and the theories will be applied in the discussion of Roth’slater works. At last this chapter presents the relation between his later works andhistory.Chapter Two first concentrates on the trauma theories of Freud and Caruth,pointing out traumatic experience cannot be wholly integrated into consciousness.There is a discussion of this popular theme in The Dying Animal: eros and death.And then the chapter analyzes the sex revolution by which the protagonists areinfluenced. The last part of this chapter analyzes the mockery of Armageddon in thisnovel, which reveals the terror and trauma in the New Millennium. Chapter Three mainly focuses on the problem of history and the application of thefigure of the child in The Plot Against America. This chapter discusses the novel under thesign of trauma by considering Roth’s representation of three apparently quotidianobjects in the life of a child—stamps, bookends, and maps. All symbols in therealistic mode of fiction depict a boyhood and suggest Roth’s mode to be realismunder the sign of trauma.Chapter Four is composed of two themes: a mourning Zuckerman and the age ofterror in Exit Ghost. Zuckerman, the familiar narrator of Roth’s works comes back toNew York, the city he left eleven years before, by the sense of atmospheric terrorfollowing the9/11attacks. The9/11attacks are sets for the background in the noveland the language are associated with terror. At last the chapter analyzes and pointsout that the terrorists does not destroy America but the new president will, whichforeshadows the future of a nation in terror.Chapter Five discusses the theme of death, which are the outcomes for theprotagonists in Roth’s four recent novels: Everyman, Indignation, The Humbling,and Nemesis. The chapter focuses on the presence of death and dying in Roth’stetralogy, the nostalgic tone, the trauma of the grave history in the twenty-firstcentury.The last part is conclusion, which demonstrates the ethical dimensions to traumastudies and to Philip Roth’s later works. A dimension attempts to recognize sufferingin the twentieth century. Thus we come to the conclusion that Americans are stillworking to perfect their democracy, still emerging out of a traumatic revolution.They have not yet caught up with the revolution that came too soon in order for themto witness fully the radical changes that history had in store for them. This is thechilling subtext of Roth’s later works—trauma is the problem of history.