"A Is A”: Spider-Man, Ayn Rand, and What Man Ought to Be

In 1979, writer Tom DeFalco was paired with artist and cocreator of Spider-Man, Steve Ditko, to work on an issue of Machine Man, one of the many superheroes populating the universe of Marvel Comics. Instead of the usual introduction and business chatter, Ditko challenged DeFalco during a first conversation: "Are you Tom? What gives you the right to write about heroes?” (Tucker 2012). By the time of this exchange, Ditko had not only (co-) created and continued numerous superhero stories, ranging from Captain Atom to Dr. Strange or the Hulk, but he had also dedicated a lot of thought to the question as to what composed true heroism. In the 1960s, he had already found answers in a place not uncommon for that time, namely, in the novels of a Russian immigrant whose work should serve, in her own words, as "the projection of an ideal man” (Rand 1943, ix; 1975, 162; 2005, 230): Ayn Rand (1905-1982

Political Awakenings

Le Complot contre l’Amérique de Philip Roth décrit l’initiation politique de ses deux protagonistes, le narrateur Philip et son frère aîné, Sanford. Tandis que ce dernier passe par un processus initiatique quasi classique — il se déroule conformément au schéma tripartite de van Gennep — l’apogée de l’initiation de Philip est marquée par douleur et blessure. Toutefois, tous les deux connaissent seulement une initiation partielle, car le premier doit d’abord admettre ses erreurs tandis que le second va devoir apprendre, non seulement à remettre en cause l’autorité, mais également à développer ses idées de façon indépendante.Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America traces the political awakening of its two child protagonists, the narrator Philip and his elder brother Sanford. While the latter undergoes an initiation process nearly in accordance with the classical tripartite scheme as coined by van Gennep, the height of Philip’s initiation process is marked by physical pain and injury. However, both experience only a partial initiation, since the elder brother will have to recognize his errors and the younger one will first have to learn how to go beyond the mere questioning of authority

Political Awakenings

Le Complot contre l’Amérique de Philip Roth décrit l’initiation politique de ses deux protagonistes, le narrateur Philip et son frère aîné, Sanford. Tandis que ce dernier passe par un processus initiatique quasi classique — il se déroule conformément au schéma tripartite de van Gennep — l’apogée de l’initiation de Philip est marquée par douleur et blessure. Toutefois, tous les deux connaissent seulement une initiation partielle, car le premier doit d’abord admettre ses erreurs tandis que le second va devoir apprendre, non seulement à remettre en cause l’autorité, mais également à développer ses idées de façon indépendante.Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America traces the political awakening of its two child protagonists, the narrator Philip and his elder brother Sanford. While the latter undergoes an initiation process nearly in accordance with the classical tripartite scheme as coined by van Gennep, the height of Philip’s initiation process is marked by physical pain and injury. However, both experience only a partial initiation, since the elder brother will have to recognize his errors and the younger one will first have to learn how to go beyond the mere questioning of authority

Political Initiation in the Novels of Philip Roth

Political Initiation in the Novels of Philip Roth exemplifies how literature and, specifically, the work of Philip Roth can help readers understand the ways in which individuals develop their political identity, learn to comprehend political ideas, and define their role in society. Combining political science, literary theory, and anthropology, the book describes an individual's political coming of age as a political initiation story, which is crafted as much by the individual himself as by the circumstances influencing him, such as political events or the political attitude of the parents. Philip Roth's characters constantly re-write their own stories and experiment with their identities. Accordingly, Philip Roth's works enable the reader to explore, for instance, how individuals construct their identity against the backdrop of political transformations or contested territories, and thereby become initiands-or fail to do so. Contrary to what one might expect, initiations are not only defining moments in childhood and early adulthood; instead, Roth shows how initiation processes recur throughout an individual's life.Intro -- Titile Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations of Philip Roth's Works -- List of Abbreviations of Other Works of Fiction -- Prologue -- Part 1 The Framework -- Chapter 1 Beginnings and Transitions in Political Science and Literature -- 1. Introduction: Portnoy at the threshold -- 2. The anthropological concept of initiation: Society's rules challenged -- 3. Initiation stories: The storytelling initiand -- 4. Political socialization: The swing halted in mid-air -- 5. Instead of a conclusion, a transition: Politics and literature in liminal space -- Part 2 Classical Initiation Stories -- Chapter 2 Political Awakenings: Classic Initiation Patterns in The Plot Against America and Indignation -- 1. Introduction: Thrice initiated, thrice transformed -- 2. Plots against childhood and the longing for manhood -- 3. Of rituals and spaces: Dimensions of change -- 4. Histories and stories-worlds factual and fictitious -- 5. Conclusion: Seeking identity in times of transition -- Chapter 3 Guided by the Particularizer: I Married A Communist -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Little Tom Paine in the company of men: Zuckerman's political initiation -- 3. Howard Fast et al.: The reader as a political disciple -- 4. Literature for literature's sake: The freed particularizer -- 5. Conclusion, or attempt at a closure: Why I keep overreading -- Chapter 4 Political Odysseys: Prague, Israel, and Elsewhere -- 1. Introduction: Movements, oscillatory and otherwise -- 2. Roots, literary and otherwise: Prague -- 3. Home, biblical: Israel -- 4. Home, actual: America and spaces within -- 5. Conclusion: Home, at last -- Part 3 Initiation as Radical Self-Invention -- Chapter 5 Passing and Other Escapes from the Hereditary Predicament -- 1. Introduction: Identity as a palimpsest2. Assimilation as transformation: Of noses and kafkaesque nightmares -- 3. Assimilation as disguise: Eli, the believer -- 4. Assimilation as renunciation: Passing the color-line -- 5. Conclusion: Assimilation and identity-creation revoked -- Chapter 6 The Religious Void, or Terrorist Art: Fanaticism as a Quest for Identity -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Apprentice fanatics in limbo -- 3. Rebels without a cause or the art of terror -- 4. Conclusion: Perpetual apprenticeship -- part 4 De-Initiation -- Chapter 7 For Another Go: (Zucker)man as a Perpetual Initiand -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Emotionally immature: Of masters and everymen -- 3. Rash moments in the final years -- 4. Conclusion: Perpetually tried, perpetually in transit -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Prologue -- Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Sources -- Novels and other writings by Philip Roth -- Works by other authors and artists -- Academic sources -- IndexPolitical Initiation in the Novels of Philip Roth exemplifies how literature and, specifically, the work of Philip Roth can help readers understand the ways in which individuals develop their political identity, learn to comprehend political ideas, and define their role in society. Combining political science, literary theory, and anthropology, the book describes an individual's political coming of age as a political initiation story, which is crafted as much by the individual himself as by the circumstances influencing him, such as political events or the political attitude of the parents. Philip Roth's characters constantly re-write their own stories and experiment with their identities. Accordingly, Philip Roth's works enable the reader to explore, for instance, how individuals construct their identity against the backdrop of political transformations or contested territories, and thereby become initiands-or fail to do so. Contrary to what one might expect, initiations are not only defining moments in childhood and early adulthood; instead, Roth shows how initiation processes recur throughout an individual's life.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries

Political Awakenings

Le Complot contre l’Amérique de Philip Roth décrit l’initiation politique de ses deux protagonistes, le narrateur Philip et son frère aîné, Sanford. Tandis que ce dernier passe par un processus initiatique quasi classique — il se déroule conformément au schéma tripartite de van Gennep — l’apogée de l’initiation de Philip est marquée par douleur et blessure. Toutefois, tous les deux connaissent seulement une initiation partielle, car le premier doit d’abord admettre ses erreurs tandis que le second va devoir apprendre, non seulement à remettre en cause l’autorité, mais également à développer ses idées de façon indépendante.<br>Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America traces the political awakening of its two child protagonists, the narrator Philip and his elder brother Sanford. While the latter undergoes an initiation process nearly in accordance with the classical tripartite scheme as coined by van Gennep, the height of Philip’s initiation process is marked by physical pain and injury. However, both experience only a partial initiation, since the elder brother will have to recognize his errors and the younger one will first have to learn how to go beyond the mere questioning of authority

From a Society of Second-Handers to Galts Gulch: Ayn Rands Counter-Worlds

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