Quest, Transgression And Loss

Philip Milton Roth (1933- ), the most influential Jewish writer in contemporary America, has been hailed as one of the most competitive writers to win the Nobel Prize for literature in the last few years. Roth is always famous as a prolific writer with high literary qualities since the 1950s when he first entered the literary world. By 2011 he has more than thirty books to his name and his writings are appreciatively recognized and warmly received. Surveying his writing career, however, we will find that his later writings, with Counterlife (1986) as the watershed, have undoubtedly achieved more dazzling successes. Apart from this, Roth, in his later works, has broadened his vision to an international scope; accordingly the existential condition of the Jews can be examined comprehensively.In the process of writing for more than half a century, Roth's central concern has always been the existential condition of the Jews. To achieve that purpose, Roth chooses to write about the life of the Jews in an all-comprehensive way that involves the identity question of the Jews, the crises in the Jewish family and their social life. The research on Roth's later writings reveals that "transgression" has become the keyword in their life. The Jews in Roth's later writings are mostly living in a free-will way and following their individual desires. In order to follow their hearts, they disregard all the social, ethical, moral and behavioral normality; transgress the boundary (border or limit) of the self, identity, race, erotica and power, and behave according to their desires and free will. In the process of pursuing their dreams, the Jews created by Roth are noted by their bravery in transgressing all the taboos and overstepping the utmost limitations set by the society, nevertheless all their quests have futilely ended in loss or tragedy.This dissertation, employing the methodology of cultural analysis and textual interpretation, attempts to comprehensively examine the existential condition of the Jews, especially the condition characterized by transgression in a post-modern context through the examination of the twelve novels in Roth's later writings. In addition to the introduction and conclusion parts, this dissertation is divided into four chapters.In the introduction part, the emphasis is put on Roth's high literary position and the significance of the research on him. The literature research on Roth, both at home and abroad, demonstrates that no study has been done on Roth's later works with the existential condition of the Jews as the aim. Therefore, this dissertation attempts to make a breakthrough in this respect.Chapter one deals with the writings of Roth in the post-modern time, which unfold a distinctive post-modern feature characterized by being transgressive, centering on the interplay between boundary (border or limit) and transgression. The boundary between the written world and the unwritten world is hardly visible, and the limit of the self is repeatedly questioned and challenged in Roth's later writings. In order to better reveal the existential condition of the Jews that is characterized by quest, transgression and loss, the evolution of the existential condition of the Jews in his earlier works and later works is compared. The Jews in his earlier works are living under discipline and guilt, while the Jews in his later works under free will and individual desire and consider their life as a transgressing "play".Chapter two elaborates on the identity crisis of the Jews in Counterlife and Operation Shylock:a Confession. As a wandering tribe, the Jews have been Diasporizing all over the world for over two thousand years. The founding of the state of Israel in 1948 has not only failed in ending the identity crisis of the Jews, but also getting them into an even more serious one. In the process of questing for their identity, the Jews in his novels transgress the boundary of the self, resulting in the unsettledness and indefiniteness of their identities.The third chapter dwells on the disintegration of the Jewish family. Before the advent of the post-modern society, the Jews regarded their families as the base of their social life, and each member as an integral part of the whole family. But in the post-modern society, transgression and excess dominate their family life, and they have to face with incredible crises. The older generation who used to be authoritative is losing their stateliness in front of the younger generation who always has their own way in everything, and the two generations are either in apartness or conflicts. Alienation and betrayal has become the keynote of the marital relations, and their marriage is in jeopardy as a result. The old Jewish men, especially those who are widowed, divorced or single, always disassociate themselves from social ethics, and get their own way in satisfying their sexual desires, taking sexuality as an effective way of fighting aging and death. Notwithstanding, they still cannot shake off the existential crisis and depressing condition which come hand in hand with aging.The fourth chapter focuses on the dissipation of meanings in a multi-cultural society. In a post-Holocaust period, the Jews are still questing for their ideal home, only to find that they are in an awkward position of having no place for home. In America-the so-called "Land of Hope", the Jews are considered only as the white in "probation". They have to face prejudice and hatred, anti-Semitist languages and behaviors, and all the restrictions in policies. Compared with the long-held anti-Semitism in the European continent, America provides the Diaspora Jews with more opportunities to success, but they still have to confront with the problem of hard living and the difficulty to assimilate. Modern Israel-the "Promised Land" with "milk and honey", has become a land of conflicts and violence. In refined Britain, anti-Semitism has been embedded into the marrow of Englishmen, becoming part of their collective unconsciousness. The quest for home is far from being satisfactory, so is the quest for their American Dream. In the four novels on American Dream, namely American Pastoral, I Married a Communist, The Human Stain and Indignation, the quests have all failed due to the transgressions of the four protagonists whose life ended in tragedies. By writing in this way, Roth has tried to demonstrate that America is no longer a land full of opportunities and dreams.The conclusion generalizes the existential condition of the Jews in Philip Roth's later novels, which is characterized by quest, transgression and loss. The significance of transgression in the life of the Jews, Roth's writing career and in epistemology is also expounded.