Identity Crises in Philip Roths Eli the Fanatic

“Identity Crisis” • Erikson • Defined as self analysis and self exploration. • Originated

Questions Roth Poses in GC Short Stories • What does Jewish identity mean in

Victoria Aarons • “The characters in the stories in Goodbye, Columbus, however, are at

“Eli, the Fanatic” • Suburb of Woodenton. • Eli Peck is a suburban attorney.

Eli’s Identity Crisis • “‘I am them, they are me, Mr. Tzuref. ’/ ‘Aach!

James Marcia • Identity Status Theory • Identity Moratorium • Milowitz: “The changing of

Eli’s Dual Identity • Identities metaphorized in two suits: – Green suit: Pseudo-American identity

Dissociative Identity Disorder • Two Alter Egos: 1. Eli Peck 2. Eli, the Fanatic

“The Conversion of The Jews” • Ozzie Freedman: “Is it me? Is it me

Slides: 10

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Identity Crises in Philip Roth’s “Eli, the Fanatic” and “The Conversion of the Jews”.

“Identity Crisis” • Erikson • Defined as self analysis and self exploration. • Originated from childhood. • Erikson’s hyphenated identity. • Erikson is Danish-German. American.

Questions Roth Poses in GC Short Stories • What does Jewish identity mean in a Post-World War II America? • Have Jews achieved assimilation and American status? • Are they hyphenated Americans with a dual nationalism and an inability to be classed as truly American?

Victoria Aarons • “The characters in the stories in Goodbye, Columbus, however, are at the initial stages of attempting to define themselves as Jews or not as Jews. And this tension, this push and pull between “Jew or not” makes projected Jewish identity the single most uncompromising antagonist against which Roth’s characters must contend. ” (Aarons 10)

“Eli, the Fanatic” • Suburb of Woodenton. • Eli Peck is a suburban attorney. • Assimilated Jews wish to eradicate Orthodox Jewsthe mementos of Jewish heterogeneity. • Achieved assimilation by suppressing conspicuous aspects of Jewish culture and tradition. • Arrival of Orthodox Jews challenges the Jew-Gentile peaceful coexistence. • Leo Tzuref is the head of the Yeshiva. • Assimilated Jews replicate Gentile impositions.

Eli’s Identity Crisis • “‘I am them, they are me, Mr. Tzuref. ’/ ‘Aach! You are us, we are you!’” (“Eli, the Fanatic” 192) • Survivor’s guilt • Empathises and Identifies with Yeshiva Jews. • “Just give me the day-them the day” (201) – Freudian parapraxis?

James Marcia • Identity Status Theory • Identity Moratorium • Milowitz: “The changing of clothes suggests that Eli is trying on alternative identities. ” (20)

Eli’s Dual Identity • Identities metaphorized in two suits: – Green suit: Pseudo-American identity – Black suit: Crypto-Jewish identity • Doppelganger

Dissociative Identity Disorder • Two Alter Egos: 1. Eli Peck 2. Eli, the Fanatic • Intravenous Sedation

“The Conversion of The Jews” • Ozzie Freedman: “Is it me? Is it me ME ME ME! It has to be me-but is it! (106) • Roth says: “I am not a Jewish writer; I am a writer who is a Jew” (qtd. in Rabin 9)