47 pages • 1 hour read
Philip RothA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Alex remembers watching softball in his neighborhood on Sunday mornings. The Jewish men from the area mocked each other with “gibberish and double-talk” (117), and Alex loved the sense of community. He imagined growing up to be one of those men, returning home from softball games to a wife and family. The thought of such a happy, content family makes Alex think about The Monkey threatening to throw herself off a Greek balcony. He worried that her suicide would expose him and his sexual proclivities.
After Greece, Alex traveled to Israel which seemed “more dreamy than real” (121). He was shocked to be in a country with so many other Jewish people. Despite being a member of the ethnic majority, Alex was bullied by a gang of Jewish youths. He was still preoccupied thinking that he contracted a venereal disease from the Italian sex worker. He became obsessed with examining his own penis and was confused that it seems to be totally normal.
The morning after arriving, Alex went to the beach. He noted the Jewish beachgoers, the Jewish lifeguard, the Jewish sand, and the Jewish plane in the sky above him.
By Philip Roth
American Pastoral
American Pastoral
Philip Roth
Defender Of The Faith
Defender Of The Faith
Philip Roth
Everyman
Everyman
Philip Roth
Goodbye Columbus
Goodbye Columbus
Philip Roth
Indignation
Indignation
Philip Roth
Operation Shylock: A Confession
Operation Shylock: A Confession
Philip Roth
Patrimony
Patrimony
Philip Roth
Sabbath's Theater
Sabbath's Theater
Philip Roth
The Conversion of the Jews
The Conversion of the Jews
Philip Roth
The Counterlife
The Counterlife
Philip Roth
The Ghost Writer
The Ghost Writer
Philip Roth
The Human Stain
The Human Stain
Philip Roth
The Plot Against America
The Plot Against America
Philip Roth
Zuckerman Unbound
Zuckerman Unbound
Philip Roth