phillip roth the human stain
Narratives of Different Importance
The appearance of many different narratives in one novel is nothing really new or existing but the importance of the specific nar4ratives are very interesting when it comes to fully understand the novel. Usually the narrator, often an unreliable person appearing himself in the story, is more or less interested in all narratives of a novel similarly. And as the narrators attention is leading for the reader’s attention there are no differences of importance to different narratives. In the novel The Human Stain by Philip Roth there is a deviation of this to be observed. The novel includes two narratives of different importance to the reader and the narrator: the racist scandal and the sexual life of Coleman Silk.
The narrative including the racist scandal is more important to the reader than to the narrator, Nathan Zuckerman. While reading the novel for the first time and without any kind of further analysis the reader’s attention is mainly drawn to the scandal about Coleman Silk being suspended. In combination with Silk’s own identity problems caused by racism, the scandal about him offending two black students gets into the focus. As racism and its combat are major topics of literature and especially America literature it is not surprising that readers are extraordinarily sensitive for the racial scandal in this novel. Turning the attention that much to racism and the racial scandal the reader is not able to see where the narrator’s attention truly lies.
In fact it is Coleman Silk’s sexual life that is of most importance to the narrator but not as much to the reader. Due to Nathan Zuckerman’s impotence Silk’s sexual life is very interesting for the narrator. Coleman Silk’s way of life and especially his relationship with a younger woman reanimates the narrator’s wish for virility. Furthermore, Silk’s relationship with Faunia Farley seems not only to be a big deal for the narrator but as well for other people occurring in the
The appearance of many different narratives in one novel is nothing really new or existing but the importance of the specific nar4ratives are very interesting when it comes to fully understand the novel. Usually the narrator, often an unreliable person appearing himself in the story, is more or less interested in all narratives of a novel similarly. And as the narrators attention is leading for the reader’s attention there are no differences of importance to different narratives. In the novel The Human Stain by Philip Roth there is a deviation of this to be observed. The novel includes two narratives of different importance to the reader and the narrator: the racist scandal and the sexual life of Coleman Silk.
The narrative including the racist scandal is more important to the reader than to the narrator, Nathan Zuckerman. While reading the novel for the first time and without any kind of further analysis the reader’s attention is mainly drawn to the scandal about Coleman Silk being suspended. In combination with Silk’s own identity problems caused by racism, the scandal about him offending two black students gets into the focus. As racism and its combat are major topics of literature and especially America literature it is not surprising that readers are extraordinarily sensitive for the racial scandal in this novel. Turning the attention that much to racism and the racial scandal the reader is not able to see where the narrator’s attention truly lies.
In fact it is Coleman Silk’s sexual life that is of most importance to the narrator but not as much to the reader. Due to Nathan Zuckerman’s impotence Silk’s sexual life is very interesting for the narrator. Coleman Silk’s way of life and especially his relationship with a younger woman reanimates the narrator’s wish for virility. Furthermore, Silk’s relationship with Faunia Farley seems not only to be a big deal for the narrator but as well for other people occurring in the