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1、THEJEWISHQUARTERLYREVIEW,Vol.94,No.4(Fall2004)595–602Rich,Powerful,andSmartJewishOverrepresentationShouldBeExplainedInsteadofAvoidedorMystifiedDAVIDA.HOLLINGERINTHECLOSINGSCENEofPhilipRoth’sTheHumanStain(NewYork,2000)twowhitemen,oneaJewandonewhomightbecalleda‘‘poorwhite,’’conf
2、rontoneanotherwhilestandingonasheetofwhiteicebe-neathwhichisanexpanseofblackness.Thedarkwaterbeneaththeiceisanobvioussymbolforadeadmanthereaderhaslearnedwasbornblackbuthadmanagedtopassaswhite,althoughatenormouspersonalcost.Indeed,hiswhitenesswasliketheice,easilybrokenintheeve
3、ntofachangeinthesocialweather.TheJewknowsthatthemanbornblackhaddiedsomemonthsearlierintheverywatersofthenow-ice-coveredlake,murderedbythecrude,uneducatedmanhewasfacing.Buthecan’tproveit.AfterafewminutesoftenseandevasivedialoguetheJewturnsandwalksaway.TheJew,asawell-to-do,high
4、lyeducated,self-awareperson,isabletodrivethentoNewJerseytoengagetheblackfamilyofthedeadmanopenlyandhonestly.Butthelocalpoorwhite,whoneverhadmuchgoingforhimtobeginwithandlostwhathumanecapabilitieshehadwhenthegovernmentmadehimintoakillingmachineinVietnam,remainsonthewhiteiceoft
5、heremoteBerkshirelake.The‘‘cracker’’isimprisonedbyhiswar-relatedclinicaldepressionandbythepettypreju-dicesagainstwhichhisclassandculturehavegivenhimalltoolittleprotection.Thisscene,createdbyawriterwhoseunyieldingpreoccupationformorethanthirty-fiveyearshasbeenthepsychologyofJew
6、ishnessinthehistoricallyspecificconditionsoflate-twentieth-centuryAmerica,dis-playsfeaturesofAmericanlifethatinvitethesustainedattentionofhisto-rians:thesuccessofJews,andtherelevanceofaJewishbackgroundtoliveslivedoutsidecommunalJewry.NeitherRothnorhisprotagonist,NathanZuckerma
7、n,issignificantlydefinedbythecommunalframeworkthatiscentraltowhatwenormallyunderstandas‘‘Jewishhistory.’’YetTheJewishQuarterlyReview(Fall2004)Copyright2004CenterforAdvancedJudaicStudies.Allrightsreserved.596JQR94:4(2004)theirpersonaearedeeplymarkedbyaJewishpast.TheJewishexperi
8、-encethatanimatesRoth’sentiresagaofclassandculture,moreover,isnotdefi
