Philip Roth has written many stories throughout his lifetime. "Defender of the Faith" is a short story that was published in his first collection entitled Goodbye, Columbus which also included four other short stories and a novella. To understand Roth's writing one must first look at his life and where he got his general ideas from. In many of Roth's stories he encompasses parts of his life that he has dealt with such as being a Jewish American.
In "Defender of the Faith" we watch a Sergeant in the United States Army come back from fighting in World War II and come to terms with his Jewish faith and what it truly means to him by reconnecting with a part of his heart he hasn't been able to use for a long time. The story is written in first person allowing us to follow Sergeant Marx's true perspective and feelings on what he is going through in the story. The main characters in this story also include Sheldon Grossbart, Michael Halpren, and Larry Fishbein, three Jewish trainees trying to deal with the difficulties of basic training and also those of being true and faithful Jewish men. Roth joined the army in 1955, just ten years after the end of World War II, so through these men's difficulties you can see what Roth himself probably went through during training. Roth brings himself and his family alive through the characters and happenings of the story. The men tell of how their parents are very concerned and overprotective of their sons. In a biography of Roth's life by Lee Hermoine it discuses how he had a "over-possessive mother who, like most Jewish mother's only wanted the best for her son." This theme is conveyed throughout the book.
Roth characterizes Sergeant Marx as a man who mostly has been in the army for too long and has lost the warmness in his heart only because he's had no other choice so that he could deal with the things the army brings with enlisting in it. It is said in Hermiones biography of Roth that he seems to have a "less loving view of the lives of Jews." This could be why we see that Marx has forgotten some of his faith and has gotten over things such as eating kosher for the right to serve in the army. We watch the changes in Marx's character and personality as he gets to know the three privates who remind him of the things he use to believe in.
Bernard Marx, being a male Alpha, is the type of person who just doesn’t really fit in. While just about all people are very open about their thoughts and personal feelings, Bernard is very secretive about many of his thoughts and actions. For instance, when Lenina tries to talk to him about “having her,” his face goes pale and he insists that they discuss it in private (pg 58). He seems to be very concerned about what people would think if he started talking about that kind of stuff in front of them.
convey the true message of war. Throughout the book it is evident that Heller denounces the
Bernard Marx is a character that represents those that are different from the norm, a character still relevant in today’s culture. He is an archetype of those that are looked down upon as different. He signifies those that look and/or think uniquely. Bernard is the outcast who longs to belong.
Marx’s strong appeal to emotions helps pull the reader in emotionally. He informs and reminds the reader of the struggles of the modern day slave and the slave in the past, which is historical fact. His reasoning to revolt is not simply “… the violent overthrow of the bourgeoisie lays the foundation for the sway of the proletariat.” (Marx). He wants to get rid of private property and individualism. It’s all about the collective/the state. Without individualism you are simply a slave to someone or something else’s wants and desires.
Karl Marx is living in a world he is not happy with, and seems to think that he has the perfect solution. I am a strong believer in his ideas. We are living in a time period with a huge class struggle. The Bourgroise exploits and the proletariat are being exploited. Marx did not like the way this society was and searched for a solution. Marx looked for “universal laws of human behavior that would explain and predict the future course of events" (36). He saw an unavoidable growth and change in society, coming not from the difference in opinions, but in the huge difference of opposing classes. He speaks of his ideal society and how he is going to bring about this utopia in his book The Communist Manifesto. I am going to share with you more on his ideas of this “world-wide revolution” (36) that would put an end to social classes and allow people to live with equal sharing which would result in a harmonious and much peaceful world.
Karl Marx is one of the most influential figures in history. Since his death and the widespread distribution of his works, his legacy has affected almost everybody alive on the planet today. He has had a huge influence on the arts: Literature, art, theatre, film and even music. Peter Singer, in his book about Marx likened his impact on the world to that of Jesus or Mohammed. His biggest influence, however, has been on the world of politics. One very small example of this could be the Welfare State which exists in the UK; we owe the idea such institutions as pensions, free education, health care and social security benefits to Marx. If he didn't suggest these institutions directly, his writings have affected their emergence in some way.
... all of these excerpts from Marx's writings and the message that I believe is of the most importance for social scientists, is the active involvement of the scientist/philosopher in changing the social world. As noted in “The German Ideology”, fighting philosophical phrases against phrases is not sufficient. We must turn our critique upon the social world and use it to bring about change. His statement that “the philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it” (@,p145), so well summarises his approach that it along with “workers of the world unite” were alone selected to adorn his tomb (Francis, 2002). Marx is clearly about social change. His critique of the philosophers of his time can still be laid against the social scientist of today. It is not sufficient to describe the world, we must be working to change it.
Have you ever felt like an outcast? Ever been publically humiliated and constantly reminded of your differences? That is what life is life for Bernard Marx, an intelligent sleep-teaching expert who is a misfit in his society. He is aware of the hypnopaedia that is being used on the people in order to control him and he claims that he wants to break free from this society of mindless clones. However, throughout the novel, Bernard goes through a remarkable change and takes on a role of an anti-hero as his ideas of freedom and individuality are stomped on by his sudden popularity. Thesis: Bernard Marx’s quest for individuality is doomed because of his criticism of World State’s ideals stems from his flaws, his egotism, and his hypocritical nature.
Religion is the number one thing that distracts us from the daily social and economic struggle; it promises that after this hard and painful life we are promised an eternal and glorious one where nothing goes wrong. Marx says that Religion tells the poor that this life is ok because true happiness will be found in the next life. Going back to the quote Marx said, he continues on to say that Religion is the heart of a heartless world. Marx essentially gives religion some credit by saying that Religion tries to become the heart of a heartless world, even though Marx is very critical of Religion he acknowledges “Religion doesn’t matter so much it is not the real problem. Religion is a set of ideas, and ideas are expressions of material realities. Religion is a symptom of a disease, not the disease itself.” Marx then goes on to critique religion again by relating Religion to an opiate drug, like the opiate drug Religion only helps you forget the suffering and gets people to look forward to an imaginary future afterlife (hence opiate of the
Bernard Marx is an intriguing character in the book Brave New World. At the beginning of the book, he is a very main character, but as the book goes on he is put more and more into the background of the story. The reason for this can be explained by the way his character changes as the book progresses. Aldous Huxley makes an interesting point by showing how a person can be changed by obtaining something he desires. It makes the readers wonder whether success would change them in the same way or if they would be able to maintain their character.
Throughout much of the story, Nathan Marx is lost between his role as a sergeant, Jew and human being. The relationship between the church, state and individual is a well-known concept. The three must be independent of each other and this story explores what happens when the three are forced together. His religion starts the whole process of the three intertwining. As his grandmother said, “Mercy overrides justice.” The quote reflects Marx’s human side, where feelings dominate over duty. I think the theme warns about faith interfering with government and vice versa, with the single ...
Marx has three reasons for disliking religion. First, it is irrational — religion is a delusion and a worship of appearances that avoids recognizing underlying reality. Second, religion negates all that is dignified in a human being by rendering them servile and more amenable to accepting the status quo. In the preface to his doctoral dissertation, Marx adopted as his motto the words of the Greek hero Prometheus who defied the gods to bring fire to humanity: “I hate all gods,” with addition that they “do not recognize man’s self-consciousness as the highest divinity.”
Philip Roth portrays his short story, "Defender of the Faith", through the eyes of Sergeant Nathan Marx. The story tells of the encounters between the Sergeant and Private Sheldon Grossbart, who is in basic training in basic training. With the use of the first person, all the reader can see is what Marx sees. Over the course of the story it is learned that Grossbart is seemingly scheming behind the Sergeant's back. The reader gains this information gradually because this is how the Sergeant also learns. It is neve...
Bernard Marx an Alpha plus specialist in sleep teaching is an example of a character that changes in the brave new word. He changes from a character that symbolized individuality to a character that just wanted to desperately belong to the society. At the beginning of the novel he seemed to be very different from the society, he acts like a rebel trying to battle against the order of things. He seemed to be an “individual” in the first few chapters. For example On his first date with Lenina with lenina he says ” I’d rather be myself. ‘Myself and nasty .Not somebody else, however jolly”(77). He wanted to be something else different from the rest of the society. However we see that his root concern is to be socially acceptable and not really about becoming an individual. In chapter 6 Bernard shows signs of undergoing a change in his character. When the Director summoned Bernard to his office for being unorthodox, Bernard goes on to brag to his friend Helmholtz Watson on his victory over the director when he says” I simply told him to go to the bottomless past and marched out of the room and that was that “(85). We get the sense that Bernard’s victory wasn’t so much about personal integrity as it was social acceptance. Finally, his character undergoes a c...
Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier, Germany to Jewish parents. His parents converted to Christianity when anti-semitism reared its ugly head with Hitler’s rise to power. He was influenced heavily by the philosophy of Hegel, but turned away from what he considered Hegel’s idealism and developed his own theories. He married in 1843 and partnered with Friedrich Engels in 1844. Engels would support him financially and co-authored some of Marx’s most influential works. While his early works focused on philosophy, his later research revolved around economics. He is considered one of the most influential social theorists in history with his sustained analysis of modern capitalism. His work focuses on the relationship between human lives and a capitalist economy. While he is remembered most for his effect on communist leaders after he died, his legacy actually centers around the effects of capitalism on social life. He died in 1883 in London.