The Study Of The "victims" Images In Philip Roth’s Novel In Bicultural Context

Philip Roth is the representative of the third generation of Jewish American writers. Heis as famous as Singh, Malamud, Saul Bellow and other Jewish writers due to his seriousliterary attitude, unique writing style and a wealth of creative perspective. Roth had creatednumerous American Jews images in his29novels. In the bicultural context, the fictionalimages have many problems. They have identity confusion, suffer in the living alienationbecause of the expanding desire, and are under the persecution of political power. Theseimages are undoubtedly cultural and political victims. It is the Victims images in Philip Rothnovels that are studied in the paper.This paper meant to study the victims characters in Philip Roth’s novels in four phases ofRoth’s whole literature creation by text reading. Combined with Roth’s identity and culturalconsideration, the paper is to explore the origin of the victims images and the culturalmeaning and spiritual enlightenment hidden in the victims images.The paper is divided into three chapters: Chapter one “The Victims Images under dualculture attacking” studies Roth novels from1959to1997, analyses three kinds of victimsimages and review the unique contribution of Roth’s literature creation to the AmericanJews images’ shaping by text reading and image research methods. The three kinds of victimsimages are the victims of identity confusion, of expanding desire and living alienation, and ofthe political power. Chapter Two,“The Origin of Victims images in Identity and CultureReflection, is to explore the cultural causes of victims images’ creation by review Roth’sidentity and cultural consideration. This chapter reveals that Roth’s inheritance of Jewishculture, his choice and abandoning to American culture, as well as reflection on human’ssuffering in war lack of faith, and living alienation are the cause of victims images. ChapterThree,“Cultural Transcendence after Reflecting Tradition and Pursuit of Harmless LivingCondition”, analyses Roth’s cultural transcendence after he reflected tradition in the novelsafter2000. This chapter concludes that by returning to the nature and aesthetic way, humanscan return and transcend themselves and step into a frank and fearless poetic dwelling.This paper use the image research methods, embryology methods and culture methodsand employs Foucault’s power theory, Daniel Bell’s and Marcuse’s critique sociologicaltheory. Combined with Roth’s personal experience and the time background, this papersummarizes the characteristics and causes of victims images in Roth’s novels, and reveals thecultural connotation and ideological meaning behind the victims images.