123 School Work

philip roth and judaism

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  Philip Milton Roth is one of the most influential and controversial American writers of the 20th century. As noted by Alfred Kazin, a critic, "People either love his fiction or they hate it. Gray areas are rare indeed". Roth writes about almost every issue pertaining to the human condition: money, love, family, society, and especially religion. He used Judaism as the backbone to many of his stories. Roth often portrayed his Jewish characters and their views on religion in a less than positive manner, which caused much resentment within the Jewish community. Roth has been called such things as a "self-hating anti-Semite" by his own people, when he merely portrayed Jews as human, flaws and all. Philip Roth writes about and satirizes Jewish Americans in order to convey the message that Jews, like all minority groups, are human above all else. (Pinsker, 164)
       Philip Roth's life and upbringing had a large impact on his writing and is the basis of many of his characters and settings. He was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey...