Trust In Philip Roth's Defender Of The Faith

Trust is, something that one will have faith in another entity. For example is a trust that a parent has when they leave the house in the hands of their teenagers hoping that they wont burn it down while they are away. In the short story, “Defender of the Faith”, Philip Roth uses imagery and characterization, to show why taking advantage of ones trust can make an individual act harshly. The “Defender of the Faith” is set in 1945, post to WWII, a military training camp in Missouri USA. The story is about a soldier named Grossbart who was taking advantage of a man named Sergeant Marx, so he can get all of the special treatment while he was in an army training camp. When Sergeant Marx finally found out, he took revenge by sending him
Some other quotes that prove this are, when Marx entered the chapel “His elbow slid into Grossbart’s side… he whispered something, and then, while the congregation next responded to the chant, Grossbart’s voice was among the others…”(Roth pg.7) The author uses imagery to show how the guys were lying about going to pray so they could avoid the G.I. party, but when Sergeant Marx came in, they started to participate. The second quote is Marx telling Grossbart “Grossbart – you were the one who wrote that letter, weren’t you?”(Roth pg.14) The author uses characterization to show Grossbart is a liar, and lies to get what he wants. The third quote is Marx stating to Grossbart that, “I’ve seen you eat. Do you know that? I told the captain I don’t know what you eat, but I've seen you eat like a hound at chow.” (Roth pg.14) Author uses imagery to show how Grossbart is lying about not eating so he can change the menu for the jewish people at the camp. The fourth quote is Marx telling Grossbart, “Seder! It suddenly occurred to me that Passover had been celebrated weeks before.”(Roth pg. 18) The author uses irony to illustrate that Seder has already passed and Grossbart says that his Aunt is having one. Meaning Grossbart is lying again so he can leave camp. Lastly Marx says, “Every single trainee was to be shipped to camp Stoneman, California, and from there to the pacific — every trainee but one. Private Sheldon Grossbart… I lifted the phone and called C. and A. and changes orders, making Grossbart having to go to the pacific. This shows how the Marx is doing something harsh to Grossbart for taking advantage of his trust. These quotes show how Marx changes from being the defender of his fellow jews from prejudice to not being able to trust them