A Study Of The Levov Family’s Identity In American Pastoral

Philip Roth is an influential Jewish American writer in the history of American literature.American Pastoral,the first novel of his “American Trilogy,”represents the vicissitudes of the Levov family’s life experience.In American Pastoral,the issues of the Levov family’s identity has always been a major concern of not only Philip Roth but also the critics who study the novel.On the basis of Edward Soja’s thirdspace theory,this thesis explores the Levov family’s confirmation,transformation,and reconstruction of their national identity,ethnic identity and individual identity,arguing that the fluidity of the Levov family’s identities are closely related to the spaces represented throughout American Pastoral,which is manifested in three aspects.Firstly,in the settled spaces,the Levov family confirm their varied plural identities,including national identity,ethnic identity and individual identity.Secondly,the Levov family’s identities became fluid in the shifts of the real and imagined spaces.Finally,the Levov family’s identities get reconstructed in the thirdspace,which is defined in varying degrees,achieving a relatively stable state.This thesis is comprised of three major parts.The first part is a brief introduction to Philip Roth,his novel American Pastoral,the literature review as well as the theoretical foundation.The second part is the main part of the thesis,consisting of three chapters.Chapter one,“Settled Spaces and Varied Plural Identity”,explores the Levov family’s confirmation of their national identity,ethnic identity and individual identity,respectively with Newark city,multiracial society and living space being the settled spaces.Chapter two,“Changing Space and Fluid Identity”,analyzes the dynamic changes of the Levov family’s national identity,ethnic identity and individual identity in the shifts of the real and imagined space.Chapter three,“Thirdspace and Relatively Stable State”,discusses the reconstruction of the Levov family’s identities in the thirdspace.The third part is the conclusion,summarizing the major points of the thesis and restating its argument.