The Loss Of Pastoral Dwelling: Study Of American Pastoral From The Perspective Of Existentialism

This thesis interprets Philip Roth’s classic work American Pastoral from the perspective of existentialism, especially Sartre’s existentialism. Through close reading and thorough analysis, we can find that the living conditions described in the novel correspond to the view of existential absurdity and nothingness. Existential views of alienation, loss of identity, lack of beliefs, loneliness, assimilation and freedom can help us to interpret the protagonists’ behaviors and living conditions accurately.Based on the analysis of absurdity and nothingness of the Levovs’ living conditions, we can further interpret the reason for the loss of the Swede’s idealistic pastoral dwelling and the ironic effect of the “American pastoral”.Probing into American Pastoral from the perspective of existentialism, we can find that the tragedy of the protagonist comes from his wrong pursuit, incomplete assimilation and the failure of communication with his father and daughter. Although the title of the novel is American Pastoral, Philip Roth presents to the readers a tragic story of the collapse of a traditional Jewish family under the impact of modern world, and the disillusionment of the idealistic mode of pastoral dwelling.The major theoretical concepts applied in this thesis are existential absurdity and nothingness. And the thesis aims to interpret the process of the main characters’ loss of homeland, loss of identity, loss of beliefs and their unceasing pursuit of a poetic life. Through the analysis of the main characters’ absurd behaviors and nothingness of beliefs we can dig out the root cause of the dismantling of the protagonist’s idealistic pastoral dwelling.This thesis contains four chapters. Chapter I is the origin and development of existentialism and a brief overview of the work American Pastoral. In Chapter II we explore the existential absurdity and nothingness of the main characters. Based on the findings in Chapter II and further interpretations, we can find out the reason of the disillusion of the Swede’s idealistic poetic life. The last chapter is a conclusion of the whole thesis.The completion of this thesis will open up a new perspective to interpret the text and stimulate the readers to think more deeply of the great work.