Goodbye Columbus, Defender of Faith and Eli, the Fanatic by Philip Roth - Essay Example

Goodbye Columbus, Defender of Faith and Eli, the Fanatic by Philip Roth In the 1950s Philip Roth's work play a great role in influencing the religion of Jews. His works are greatly inspired by Judaism and is about struggle, status, relationships and love. Goodbye Columbus is one of the greatest works by Philip Roth which describes the American Jews and the materialistic world. The story revolves around the main character of Neil Klugman a Jewish man who falls in love with a girl named Brenda Patimkin. The relationship continues till the materialistic world takes over and it breaks due to the class differences between them. In this story I like how Philip Roth portrays the character of Neil Klugman. This is due to his fondness to his religion and his indifferent behavior towards the materialistic world. His character reveals a different sense of humor which is appreciated by all. I disliked the character of Brenda Patimkin because she is exactly the opposite of what Neil Klugman is. Her character portrays a sense of love towards the materialistic world. The character of Brenda is also portrayed as of a negative one by Philip Roth. This is because in the latter part of the story she decides to end the relationship with Neil Klugman due to their class differences. Another famous work by Philip Roth is the "Defender of the Faith". This story like the other works by Philip Roth also tells about religion and faith. It revolves around Sergeant Marx who fights in the World War II. After coming back from the war the Sergeant gets deeply involved in the Jewish religion. The Sergeant while serving in the army lost his faith in the religion and started doing things which were prohibited in his religion (like he started eating kosher). The story deals with the transformation of Marx from a man of principles and faith to a different man who forgets his religion and views after he joins the army. But soon after he re transforms to the real self when he realizes the need and the change. He analyzes three other Jewish trainees who held their religion and faith to a higher position then serving in the army. In this story I admire the character of Sergeant Marx. This is because of the firm belief of Marx in his principles. He is portrayed as a strong man who has gone through a lot of changes but who still has a firm belief in his religion and faith. The advantages taken by the trainees due to the kindness shown to them by Marx are a thing which I dislike in the story. The story Eli, the Fanatic tells us about the incidents and events occurred after a small ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva entered into a Jewish middle-class society in America. Philip Roth described the feelings of the members of the Jewish community. They were outraged and anxious as they worked hard to maintain peace in the community. He described their anxiety to protect their well-balanced community. Eli was a Jewish lawyer and people appealed him to restrict the outsiders from entering in their grounds. I like the way Roth explains the Jewish unawareness and crudeness of the modern culture and derides their suspicion. The story is distinct in a way it exemplifies the complexity of discussion about the educational standard of the Jewish society in a broken Jewish race. It clearly shows the difference of two different standards of Jewish community. One part of the community is well-educated and realistic, whereas the other part consists of superstitious and backward people. They rely on the past and are not ready to forget their old traditions and values which is quiet important for their progress at present These three stories are based on the same themes but have different stories and different views. Goodbye Columbus deals with the issue of socio economic differences and classes. It deals with the love of people for the materialistic world that is a common sight in the world. While in the Defender of the Faith the writer tells about the transformation of a man. It tells about people like Grossbart who take advantage of kind people like Marx. In the third story the image is quite depressing. A lot of the customary ultra-Orthodox society continuously misguide Jews outside of its own structure, considering them as ill-mannered, unaware of all Jewish understanding or even as conspirators to the Jewish custom, traditions and future. Yet the present Orthodox is subjected to this behavior by some essentials in the customary world. But on another view of the books they reveal stories related to the religion of Jews. It tells about the faith of different people and their transformation. The stories tell us about the firmness and views of Jewish people. The stories illustrate the beliefs of people in a detailed manner. They tell us about the merging conflicts between the material world and the religion of Jews. These three books talk about the now social issues of religion and love. Philip Roth through his stories is telling the readers to have a firm belief in their religion by removing the obstacles that come in between. In the first story i.e. Goodbye Columbus he tells us about the social issues of love. The moral of the story is to finish off the love in today's world for money and power. In the second book the writer is telling about the converting of Sergeant Marx. While in the third book the story tells about the affection of Jewish community towards their old customs and traditions. The story reveals that they weren't ready to sacrifice a single trend to enter or progress with the material world. All these books change the views of the readers in the 1950s on religion because in these times the love for the materialistic world was increasing. Through his books he particularly targeted the Jewish community and the younger generation who grow up and do not follow the principles of their parents. The characters in all these stories show a deep love towards the Jewish religion. Philip Roth's stories have worked towards a better Jewish environment these days. Bibliography Roth, Philip. Defender of the Faith. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1960. Roth, Philip. Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959 Rodgers, Bernard F. Philip Roth. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1978. Read More