Philip Roth and the Fictionalization of the Self

Authors:

Pages: 271-278

Abstract:

The article focuses on Roth’s artistic strategies in the fictionalization of the self by exploring the author’s aesthetic and ethical vantage points in constructing his characters. With his very first short stories, Roth has declared his firm resolution to depict Jewish characters in less than a favorable light, thus incurring upon himself the wrath of the Jewish community. After winning his independence from ethnic and religious allegiances, Roth constructs the equally important framework of artistic conventions, which he deploys in building his fictional selves. These include the following: well-pronounced autobiographical elements; pitting the self in conflict with itself along the axis law vs. libido, restraint vs. letting go, nausea vs. appetite and last but not least, the experience of being a man in the particularity of the modern age.

Keywords:

Philip Roth, self, fictionalization, strategy

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