Philip Roth- Master of the Double Identity :: essays research papers fc

Philip Roth - Master of the Double Identity because he suffers from oneWhat influences ones identity? Is it their homes, their parents,their religion, or maybe where they live? When do they get one? Do they getit when they understand right from wrong, or when they can read, or arethey born with it? Everyone has one and each identity is unique, or is it?In literature, (or life) religion forges a large role in a characters identity. However, sometimes the writers consume religion and personal experiences shapes the characters identity more than his/her imagination does. A persons religion can play a big role in ones identity. Through surface his works, Philip Roth explores the theme of identity doubles. Roths portrayal of identity formation in his characters is directly inspired by his own identity his life.One of the most obvious examples of Roths art imitating life is in two of his books naming the main characters after none other than himself. It was among some of the many a(pre nominal) startling gestures in his career in Deception (1990) he                                         referred to the main character as Philip and in Operation Shylock (1993) he made advert to the main character as Philip Roth. In her article titled, Philip Roths Fictions of Self Exposure, Debra Shostak remarks how odd it is for an author to outwardly make reference to themselves when most authors want repeal any personal association with their work other than writing it, she further points out that Roth intentionally writes this way, making his career out of his readers inclinations toward biographical learnationsFew writers presume to name themselves at the center of their inventions,which is why it is so arresting to find a work of fiction that pronounces its authors name within the text. Because readers are frequen tly tempted,from any prurient interest or more impartial motives, to discern autobiographyin a fictional narrative, most writers of fiction seem to labor out of modesty, a sense of privacy, or a display of imaginative capacities to erase the tracesof their own lives from their work. Not so Philip Roth. Especially since his invention of Nathan Zuckerman, Roth has encouraged readers to interpret the narrative voiceof his fiction as a self-revealing "I," a Roth lieutenant who, by the time of Deceptionand Operation Shylock, is no longer a surrogate but is "Roth" himself What I argue here is not that Roth is, strictly, writing autobiographically, but rather that he makes capital out of his readers inclinations toward biographical interpretations of his work.