Using Goodbye, Columbus as your target text, write an essay explaining one central theme presented in the novella. Your essay needs to analyze the theme as written within the novella and then draw on three outside sources in explaining or illustrating your analysis/argument. You may use any of the options below, or you may propose your own.
Sexuality and Sexism
Option 1: The setting of Goodbye, Columbus is the 1950s when unmarried sexually active girls were considered promiscuous while the boys involved were viewed as “boys just being boys.” Write a paper exploring Roth’s depiction of both sexuality and sexism in Goodbye, Columbus.
Option 2: "I found the novella interesting, but dated," writes one reviewer." Of course it would have been wonderfully scandalous at the time it was written. Many men today have become less insistent on women taking a lead in birth control. Many mothers today would welcome a responsible young woman who practiced birth control without being led to the physician by her mother. Times have changed, thankfully. This is a period piece that must be read as a historical novela." Do you agree that this novella is “a period piece” or do you believe that it is still very modern?
Class and Race
Option 1: One reviewer has written that Goodbye, Columbus is “interesting for so many reasons, not in the least, the fact that its sexuality caused such a stir at the time of publication. I think most of you will agree, Goodbye, Columbus is a rather tame book by today's standards. But the writing has the great Roth vitality, and the dialogue is dazzling. Note perfect. What an ear he has. … I think you are likely to see, within this book's issues of status, identification, assimilation, disenfranchisement and longing, the nascent ground of the freedoms that followed, and the destabilization that was both troublesome and glorious." Do you agree with this critic? What does GC reveal about status, identification, assimilation, disenfranchisement, and longing?
Option 2: Explore the relationship between Neil and the little boy from the library. Why do you think Neil is so interested in the little boy and what links the two? Explore issues of race and class consciousness within the novel.
Assimilation, White Flight, and the American Dream
Option 1: One reviewer has written, “I know this book has won awards and I have to think it is because people are impressed with the minutiae of different cultures. VERY well written, very evocative of the Jewish culture, but these exquisitely realized characters are not people I would ever want to know, and my husband, who was raised as an Orthodox Jew, feels the same way. The characters' aberrations and idiosyncrasies are vividly brought to life and I don't care. I got really bored and did not finish. Give me a plot any day." Is this a fair analysis? What does GC offer that this reader has overlooked?
Option 2 In an analysis of the novel, one student has written that, “In the novel, Goodbye, Columbus the main character, Neil Klugman, is a twenty three year old guy with a philosophy degree and works at the library. As the story progresses, Neil seems to have an internal conflict about what he’s planning on doing for the rest of his life and trying to discover his ideal American dream. While he’s dating his wealthy and beautiful girlfriend, Brenda Patimkin, Neil has to decide what the American dream means to him.” Write a paper in which you analyze the way in which the American Dream is portrayed in Goodbye, Columbus.
Your essay should include a thesis statement that directly, accurately, and specifically responds to the prompt. Your paper should be carefully organized: main ideas should be put forth in a logical order and paragraphs should be guided by topic sentences that support the central thesis. You will need to explain your points thoroughly, support your arguments with specific evidence from both the text and your three outside sources, and analyze the quotes and examples that you use. Your paper should be carefully proofread for word choice, sentence sense, and grammar.