American novelist Philip Roth demonstrated admiration for and intimacy with Joseph Conrad’s works.Testimonies abound of Roth’s direct and oblique references to Conrad’s novels.A close and comparative reading of Rot...American novelist Philip Roth demonstrated admiration for and intimacy with Joseph Conrad’s works.Testimonies abound of Roth’s direct and oblique references to Conrad’s novels.A close and comparative reading of Roth’s American Pastoral and Conrad’s Lord Jim reveals the intertextuality between the two novels in three aspects:narrative techniques,characterization and the protagonist’s tragedy.By incorporating Conrad’s Lord Jim into the fabric of American Pastoral through intertextuality,Roth rewrites Jim’s story in a new historical and social context,throwing new light on the canonical work and revealing the dilemma and tragedy of American Jewish immigrants in their pursuit of American Dream.展开更多
Philip Roth has often been accused of misogyny.A close and unbiased reading of Roth’s American Pastoral,however,reveals that beneath its surface patriarchal narrative discourse simmers an undercurrent of a female sub...Philip Roth has often been accused of misogyny.A close and unbiased reading of Roth’s American Pastoral,however,reveals that beneath its surface patriarchal narrative discourse simmers an undercurrent of a female subtext,which engages a dialogue as well as a confrontation with its counterpart.Swede Levov,worshipped as an indestructible,active and masculine semi-god,turns out to be weak,passive and indecisive,while the women belittled by him are actually independent,insightful,wise and proactive.Such patriarchal binary oppositions as male/female,active/passive,strong/weak having been subverted,patriarchal myth and authority represented by Levov has thus been deconstructed and the gender politics has been rectified.Women in the novel win the domination held by the male protagonist Levov,the narrator Nathan Zuckerman.展开更多
文摘American novelist Philip Roth demonstrated admiration for and intimacy with Joseph Conrad’s works.Testimonies abound of Roth’s direct and oblique references to Conrad’s novels.A close and comparative reading of Roth’s American Pastoral and Conrad’s Lord Jim reveals the intertextuality between the two novels in three aspects:narrative techniques,characterization and the protagonist’s tragedy.By incorporating Conrad’s Lord Jim into the fabric of American Pastoral through intertextuality,Roth rewrites Jim’s story in a new historical and social context,throwing new light on the canonical work and revealing the dilemma and tragedy of American Jewish immigrants in their pursuit of American Dream.
文摘Philip Roth has often been accused of misogyny.A close and unbiased reading of Roth’s American Pastoral,however,reveals that beneath its surface patriarchal narrative discourse simmers an undercurrent of a female subtext,which engages a dialogue as well as a confrontation with its counterpart.Swede Levov,worshipped as an indestructible,active and masculine semi-god,turns out to be weak,passive and indecisive,while the women belittled by him are actually independent,insightful,wise and proactive.Such patriarchal binary oppositions as male/female,active/passive,strong/weak having been subverted,patriarchal myth and authority represented by Levov has thus been deconstructed and the gender politics has been rectified.Women in the novel win the domination held by the male protagonist Levov,the narrator Nathan Zuckerman.