BAŞKALARINI KURBAN ETME İHTIYACI VE BUNUN PHILIP ROTH’UN İNSAN LEKESİ İSİMLİ ROMANININ KAHRAMANI ÜZERİNDEKİ TRAJİK ETKİLERİ

Authors : Sinem TÜRKEL

Pages : 146-150

View : 41 | Download : 10

Publication Date : 2015-12-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :World history is full of different versions of victimization that actually derive from humans fears . For instance, as people feared natural phenomena in ancient times, sacrifices were offered as a way of placating the forces of nature and purifying the elements that were thought to cause the outrage of nature/gods. In ancient Greece this was practiced by exiling a goat loaded with the metaphorical sins of the town. The practice of sacrifice has embedded itself in human history so deeply that in modern times it survives in a variety of different forms such as “othering” of women, non-white races, and political dissidents. American history itself is laden with such victimization-sacrifice deliria, the most known of which is the Salem witch trials. Though the act of victimization still stems from fear , in our modern world, rather than the forces of nature, people fear social and political forces which threaten to ostracize them if they do not fit. Therefore, social and political misfits are the new victims to be sacrificed.     Philip Roth, the most celebrated of Jewish-American fiction writers, sheds light on the ongoing practice of victimization in contemporary world and its catastrophic effects on the protagonists’ lives in The Human Stain . This paper aims at analyzing the reasons and the effects of victimization on the protagonist, Mr. Coleman, the College Professor having an African-American heritage. Being brought up witnessing the discrimination against blacks and experiencing its tragic consequences in his personal life, Coleman decides to “pass” as a Jew in order to climb up the hierarchal ladder and enjoy the status he is allowed to earn as a Jewish College Professor. Though his passing functions as a way out of racial inequity for some time, ironically, Coleman is victimized due to making racial discrimination to black students in his class. 
Keywords : Victimization, Philip Roth, Fear, Racism, Political Correctness

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