The Pursuit Of The Organic Community In E.L.Doctorow’s World’s Fair

E.L.Doctorow’s(1931-2015)works integrate artistry,reality and humanity.World’s Fair(1985),a semi-autobiographical novel,is the most realistic masterpiece.The novel recounts the experiences of Edgar’s family in America through the narrative of Edgar,a Jewish boy,and his family.It reflects the reality of American society in the 1930 s and Doctorow’s profound concern for the fate and identity of the Jewish people,as well as his sense of community.Since its publication,the novel has sparked significant attention among scholars in China and abroad,with numerous researchers delving into the novel via the perspectives of writing techniques,new-historicism,politics and culture,as well as spatial analysis.This thesis examines the construction,disintegration and restoration of the organic community of Jewish immigrants in America in Doctorow’s World’s Fair through the lens of Ferdinand T(?)nnies’ s and Zygmunt Bauman’s theories of community and society.The first chapter analyzes the construction of the organic community in America when the Edgar family arrives in America few years later.As Russian-Jewish immigrants,Edgar’s family intends to build a community of Jewish immigrants in a foreign country by establishing a harmonious family through education,creating a safe neighborhood via ghettoization,and reaching spiritual growth with friends through common feelings.Consequently,they succeed in building a community conducive to their survival.Also,Edgar’s family members form organic connections with neighbors and friends in the community.The second chapter unfolds the destruction of the organic community under the impact of American mainstream society in the1930 s,and the alienation between the Edgar family and other members of the community.When the Edgar family is more involved in American society,his parents’ pursuit of the American Dream and their attempts to“Americanize” themselves trigger constant turmoils;German Jews and native Americans in their neighborhood discriminate against them due to their Russian-Jewish identity,which culminates in the undefinable identity of the Edgar family,and the departure of friends leads the Edgar family into a spiritual emptiness.Thus,under the influence of American society,the organic community that Edgar’s family built is destroyed.Assimilation,identity and spiritual anxiety lead to a gradual deterioration of the relationship between the Edgar family and the other members of the community.Chapter three examines the Edgar family’s efforts to restore the organic community following its devastation.In 1939 when Edgar was nine,his family preserves Jewish cultural traditions and national uniqueness through religion,and they use the media to develop universal ethics with other peoples while expressing their dual identities.As a result,they gradually rebuild a historic and inclusive community,reestablishing organic relationships with family members,other Jewish immigrants,and even other peoples.Likewise,the Edgar family’s dual identity is recognized in American society.To summarize,World’s Fair illustrates the Edgar family’s pursuit of an organic community in American society,highlighting the difficulties faced by Jews in establishing their identity and an organic community in a foreign nation,as well as Doctorow’s concern for Jews and his sense of community.To a large extent,in the modern world of inconsistencies and uncertainty,individuals,to construct a national community or a community of shared future for mankind,require a sense of history and a tolerant mind,paired with a desire for order and connections in the flow.