A paper which compares and discusses the 3 works of Philip Roth Essay

A paper which compares and discusses the 3 works of Philip Roth Goodbye, Columbus Defender of the Faith and Eli, the Fanatic - Essay Example 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 t he 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