Philip Roth and America's Inexplicable War: Situating The Human Stain and American Pastoral within the Vietnam Canon

Postgraduate English: A Journal and Forum for Postgraduates in English (UK)

Carlie Sorasiak

关键词: Philip Roth;    Vietnam War;    Allegory;   

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: University of Durham

【 摘 要 】

Although Philip Roth's American Pastoral (1997) and The Human Stain (2000) broadly situate Roth within the Vietnam literary canon, his relatively late publishing dates illustrate a markedly unique approach to a victor-less, mission deficient war that is notoriously complicated to represent. Most importantly, Roth portrayal of the war domestic reality reflects the canon morphing trajectory, away from the straight-forward platoon novel and towards allegorical representation. This essay first examines the earlier Vietnam canon and then explicates how Roth domesticizes and mythologizes the war, specifically through his illustrations of Merry in American Pastoral and Lester in The Human Stain.

【 授权许可】

CC BY