Book contents
- Philip Roth in Context
- Philip Roth in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- A Note on References and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Life and Literary Contexts
- Part II Critical Contexts
- Part III Geographical Contexts
- Part IV Theoretical Contexts
- Part V Jewish American Identity
- Chapter 20 Roth as “Jewish American Writer”
- Chapter 21 Judaism and Secularism
- Chapter 22 Roth and the Holocaust
- Chapter 23 Antisemitism
- Chapter 24 The Black-Jewish Matrix
- Part VI Gender and Sexuality
- Part VII Political Contexts
- Part VIII Roth’s Legacy
- Primary Bibliography
- Selected Secondary Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 20 - Roth as “Jewish American Writer”
from Part V - Jewish American Identity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 July 2021
- Philip Roth in Context
- Philip Roth in Context
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- A Note on References and Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Life and Literary Contexts
- Part II Critical Contexts
- Part III Geographical Contexts
- Part IV Theoretical Contexts
- Part V Jewish American Identity
- Chapter 20 Roth as “Jewish American Writer”
- Chapter 21 Judaism and Secularism
- Chapter 22 Roth and the Holocaust
- Chapter 23 Antisemitism
- Chapter 24 The Black-Jewish Matrix
- Part VI Gender and Sexuality
- Part VII Political Contexts
- Part VIII Roth’s Legacy
- Primary Bibliography
- Selected Secondary Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Philip Roth is regularly categorized as a Jewish American writer, a label that was longa source of frustration to the author, who resisted the notion that his work must be viewed through the lens of one facet of his identity. As early as 1963, he affirmed at conference in Israel, “I am not a Jewish writer, I am a writer who is a Jew,” a sentiment he reiterated more than once over the course of his career. Taking into account Roth’s own commentary as well as his contributions to a literary representation of Jewish identity, this chapter will discuss the cultural impetus for and implications of deeming Roth a specifically “Jewish writer” or “Jewish American” writer.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Philip Roth in Context , pp. 205 - 214Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021