The Analysis Of Philip Roth’s American Trilogy From The Perspective Of The American Dream

As a prolific American novelist, Philip Roth demonstrates undiminished creative literarypower in his American Trilogy which comprises American Pastoral(1997)，I Married aCommunist(1998) and The Human Stain(2000). As a systematic and coherent unit，the trilogypresents a miniature contemporary American society．The thesis is intended to examine and explore the trilogy from the perspective of theAmerican Dream，and elaborates on the three diverse forms of the national myth and variousfactors leading to the disillusionment of the protagonists’ American Dream. Textual analysisand methods of comparison and contrast are applied in the discussion of the trilogy. Political，social and cultural background of the postwar American society is employed to highlight theprotagonists’ identity loss in the pursuit of the American Dream．The American Dream is an eternal theme in American literature. It is brought by PhilipRoth to his American Trilogy to reflect contemporary American Dream and thedisillusionment which is prevailing in the society．Literary critics have been analyzing Roth’sAmerican Trilogy from various aspects，whereas the perspective of the American Dream hasseldom been applied in the analysis of the American Trilogy．With the review of the evolution of the American Dream as the cornerstone of the thesis,three different kinds of American Dream are portrayed in the first part．Seymour Levov inAmerican Pastoral longs for a pastoral American Dream；in I Married a Communist，IraRingold’s dream is an equitable and progressive American society；Coleman Silk in TheHuman Stain dreams to have an ordinary American life free from racialdiscrimination．Although the three kinds of American Dream are different in form, they areroughly the same in essence. Despite their strenuous efforts，the three protagonists are unableto take control of their own destiny to remake themselves．The aspirations of individuals areoverwhelmed in the torrents of the American history．Seymour’s pastoral dream is lost in thesocial turbulence of the1960s；Ira’s vision of social justice can never be realized in the era ofMcCarthyism in the1950s；political correctness in the1990s tears down Coleman’s lifelongefforts to elude racial prejudice．Apart from historical factors，it is undeniable that personal defects partially contribute to the disillusionment and personal tragedies．The American Trilogy truthfully delineates the living state of contemporary Americansand their psychological sub-consciousness．It also provokes the reflection on people’ssentimental yearning for the American Dream and their inability facing the collapse of theirideal．The American Dream holds out empty promises which lead to people’s disorientationabout dream and the reality, and therefore，the thesis makes an effort to clarify that，in thepursuit of the national myth，it is ridiculous that people who have lost their original identityintend to create a new self for them．Based on detailed textual analysis，the thesis illustrates Roth’s skepticism about theAmerican Dream and his instinctive insight into American consciousness and thedegeneration of the national spirit．Moreover, the thesis is intended to demonstrate Roth’sartistry in weaving together the three protagonists’personal life and the broad social context ofa country in his American Trilogy．Finally, the thesis is intended to enable the readers to havea better understanding of Philip Roth’s American Trilogy as well as his concern about thepredicament of modern people．...