Goodbye Columbus Writing Assignment

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Goodbye Columbus
This is a story depicting a difference in people from the low class, middle class all through to the high-class society and the Jewish religion enforced on people. The book is a collection of short stories. That is the novella Goodbye Columbus by Philip Roth. It also highlights challenges present in a Jewish American mixed up society. It gives an opportunity of airing the problems that are affecting the Jewish and American religions. Another problem is in how the African Americans as they leave their parents and grandparents ghettos and go to college, to white collar professions, life in the suburbs and how they relate with others in the society. Notably, the author has used dialogue as an enhancement of the challenges portraying themselves in the book Goodbye Columbus. Racism and exploitation, as seen in the small boy who is being forced to go home with a book so as to reduce his visits in the library is one of the many instances.
The story’s collection title, Good Bye Columbus was a deeper look into the middle class Jewish American lives and satirizing their parochialism, materialism and complacency. Neil Klugman, a recent graduate from the Rutgers University and a low paid employee in the Newark Public Library tells the story as the narrator. Neil lives in a working-class neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, with Gladys his aunt and uncle Max. One summer, he meets Brenda, a third-generation Jewish woman and an undergraduate of Radcliffe College and falls in love with her. Brenda is from a wealthy family that lives in the suburbs of Short hills, the book probe into the classism which distresses the relationship, this is despite Ben, Brenda’s father coming from the same surroundings as Neil. Mr. Patimkin doubts if Neil can give the best life to his daughter. Mrs. Patimkin a former tennis star, doesn’t believe Neil will be able to encourage her daughter to follow traditions being that she herself is an adamant follower of Judaism but Brenda doesn’t take that tradition seriously.
The problem is that Brenda is more assimilated than Neil. Neil is really struggling to develop and preserve his own identity in the midst of conflicting impulses and different environments within himself. In the quest of trying to understand his role in society that agrees with what he terms to be his own, he loses Brenda. Neil was set to flee from the inception of parents life style when he met Brenda and was enticed by her manners and beauty. Brenda represents a different better world from the one he is used to. Short Hills and Newark portray two very contrasted regions and Neil tries to bound his own identity majorly because of the contrasts.
The library he works in, makes him disappointed because he can’t connect with the employed strange fellows and is worried that he might be like one librarian who is dusty, has a pale skin and a life that has become a numbness and a muscle less commitment to his work. His alertness and awareness of his surroundings makes him realize the longing of the young boy in the library for a more sensuous and freer life. the little boy is obviously really interested to understand his religion and as much as the librarian tries to discourage him, he is determined.
In his dream, Neil is sailing to Tahiti with a black boy from the library. He thinks of the nineteenth century painter Paul Gauguin, who is charged with the exploitation of the Tahitian art that was native. The painter had integrated a lot of traditional designs into his work. Neil compares Paul to Christopher Columbus who explored new territories and caused desolation on the populations native. He also compares the journeys of Paul and Christopher to his own in terms of the exploration of the New Jersey suburbs. He ponders on if the assimilation of the Patimkins also stretches to other people like the example of the young boy he meets in the library and that the influence of their environment will destroy his goal of freedom and love.
He and the black boy start drifting away from the harbor and as soon as they disappear from the nude negro women, watching their paradise island fade away, the natives say “Goodbye, Columbus” this depicts the fact that the two will not get to live their American dream due to their social status. As much as the actual Christopher Columbus was also obsessed in his journey for a great and better world, the historical parallel is connected.
Religious differences in the society have well portrayed in the story. The conversation between the little boy and the librarian depicts the Jewish -American relationship and how the African Americans are looked down on. Evidently, there is a strain between the two communities that is the Americans and the Jews. Brenda has been to the Library being that she comes from a well to do family while on the other hand Neil’s poor background hasn’t allowed him to step into it. Disparities and racism make him look into the mirror and wishes that he was different on the outward look. His life is basically broken because of his color and background. His status does not actually allow him to use the library. Brenda also brings to light how the African Americans are being discriminated when she tells Neil on the Patimkin sinks in the library wash rooms (Rudnytsky,2). Neil finds himself in a predicament “…broken walls of books, and imperfectly shelved…” symbolized how his life is disorganized (Rudnytsky,3).
While he’s still meditating in church, Neil talks to God but his prayer is not at all serious. The God he is speaking to appears to be an atheist who is existing at everything. He was getting no answers but still continued. he said that if he was to meet God its that he was a carnal and knows that God would approve of him being so but where would they meet and what prize would he give God? Even though Neil is not a true atheist, he puts across a good point. if at all God is alike with ...