AMERICAN PASTORAL
Philip Roth
Books for Bigots
Now a Jewish novel, after a Black novel and a Cheyenne novel, in my continued search for Books for Bigots. I enjoyed American Pastoral; it's a good read, but does not end well for our hero Seymour "Swede" Levov. The Swede as he is known in much of the book grows up in a successful, hardworking Jewish family - - the maker of fine gloves in Newark.
Manufacturing fine gloves in Newark is the first indication that things may not turn out so well as hoped and they don't. This is not to say unnecessary disparaging remarks about New Jersey's largest city, but after all it is Newark and the Newark riots are amply covered in the story of the Levov's manufacturing of fine gloves. This coverage within the story of the Levov's, of Black people rioting in Newark, will give most Bigots satisfaction of the sort - - of the "I told you so" variety.
The issue with The Swede is that he is a fabulous athlete the opposite of all those with whom he grows up. He is called the Swede for that very reason - - big, strong, and amazingly athletic for a Jewish kid growing up in Newark, New Jersey with typical Jewish looking, non-athletic parents, friends, and relatives.
The perfect life with wealth, looks, a Miss New Jersey wife (a Catholic by the way), but a daughter who stutters and then blows things up and disappears; reappearing finally, emaciated and a Jain who won't eat and doesn't want help while living in a dump presumably being raped at random. Oh, and the Mrs. is, at the end of the book, having an affair with a local, historically knowledgeable neighbor architect who has been engaged by his wife to build them a new house.
But as far as Bigots are concerned, we have a Jewish novel here. The Jewish thing has currently become complicated for Bigots. We now have the Jewish state of Israel destroying Palestine which is Moslem. Bigots are now conflicted and you can see in their reactions to current events. They are suppose to detest Jews which is usually a requirement for Bigotry here in the United States, but both the Christians and the Moslems believe that the second coming will occur in the Holy Land which, unfortunately, is Jewish. However, the crux of the matter is that the average Bigot can not decide which he or she dislikes more, Jews or Muslims - - as I said, complicated.
And I say complicated for the reason that it is difficult for a Bigot to parse out his hatred for Jews and for Muslims considering current events in the Middle East. Yes, we are glad that Moslems are being slaughtered wholesale, but not so happy over who is doing it - - the Jews. Shouldn't it be the Christians like back when we had such things as Crusades? Do we really have to praise the Jews for doing it? This is causing conflict within the mind of Bigotry.
Even though we see The Swede as a pretty unpretentious and nice guy who is polite and a gentleman to all those he encounters, the simple fact that the book is about Jewish people would concern many Bigots. As with all Bigots, they do not want to know more than they already do about Jewish people so the idea of reading a Jewish novel would not occur to them in the first place.
I would suggest to any Bigot willing at least to adventure into a Jewish novel, The Swede is pretty solidly American and non-Jewish and it has little to offend, and in the end, one might actually feel bad for the guy. A man who never had a bad thought about anyone in his life; nor acted badly with anyone. So I say, give it a try, the book will not convert you, attempt to convert you, nor want to convert you. It is simply a story about a very successful, nice, pleasant, unpretentious guy with athletic ability, wealth, beautiful wife, nice friends, whose life in the end goes to shit - - something that could happen to any of us - - which makes it literature.
As for the title of the book American Pastoral and for those unfamiliar with the term "pastoral", it is a literary genre originating with shepherds tending their flocks leading simple, uncomplicated lives free from adversity or the daily complications of modern existence. The Swede, a good example of the pastoral man, loses his flock to destruction, desertion, unfaithfulness, and contempt; and, asks the author, a former high school classmate, now writer, to chronicle it. If the reader could just think of it as a pastoral novel rather than a Jewish novel, it might help.
With a final note though, it must be concluded that most Bigots would not enjoy this book for the standard reasons that a) it is a book, b) it is a Jewish book, c) it contains Jewish characters. d) there anti-Vietnam war sentiments espoused, e) the daughter becomes a Jain, f) things don't end well for the main character, i. e. it's not a happy ending.
Richard E H Phelps II
Mingo
