Impersonation： A Practical Solution for Jewish Narrative Impersonation： A Practical Solution for Jewish Narrative Impersonation： A Practical Solution for Jewish NarrativeDilemma

Yao Xiaohan

【Abstract】Philip Roth employs a twining narrative method in The Ghost Writer for the purpose of seeking a possible outlet for the narrative dilemma of Jewish writing.While embedding several story lines into one major plot， the author finally finds a way to express himself in his “Lonovian—as—Zuckermanian” tale via the “Zuckerman—as—Amy—as—Anne Frank” impersonation， which is the key for the interpretation of this novella.

【Key Words】The Ghost Writer； narrative dilemma； impersonation

The ideas of facts and fantasies are constantly questioned and challenged in Philip Roths novella The Ghost Writer.Along with the protagonist， a young writer Nathan Zuckermans “two days one night” pilgrimage to the master E.L.Lonoffs house in the hills of Western Massachusetts， we are presented with a series of portraits of writers， would-be-writers， writers relatives， and critics.Having adopted the “ventriloquist” technique（Roth， RMAO 144）， Roth constructs this novella in such an entangled way that permeates both his story-telling and his narrative method， all for the purpose of seeking a possible outlet for a Jewish writing.

ⅠThe “True Story”

Being known as an “unusually economic writer”（O'Donnell 367）， Philip Roth knows well of how to create a complicated artistic effect within the most limited space.In The Ghost Writer， he manages to embody at least four layers of stories in the four-chapter novella， which makes the book itself “ghostly” enough.

The first layer of this opening novella is a mid-aged writer Nathan Zuckermans recollection of a short visit twenty years ago， when he was in a bad quarrel with his father over his unpublished novel and was trying to seek another paternal approval from the housemaster， E.L.Lonoff， who was “the most famous literary ascetic in America”（Roth， 12） at the time.Zuckerman went to submit himself “for candidacy as nothing less than E.I.Lonoffs spiritual son”（12）， and after one nights stay full of unexpected family incidents and mad fantasies， he seemed to catch something and get a “confirmation”（156） from the master， thus continued his journey of writing.

There are several other stories embedded in the main plot.One is Zuckermans fantasy of Amy Bellette， a mysterious young lady he encountered at Lonoffs who was fantasized as Anne Frank， who survived the concentration camp life but decided to hide her true identity for the sake of her art.Such a fantasy enables Zuckerman to vindicate his writing before his family， his society， and most importantly， his own consciousness.The second interlude is about how Zuckerman grabbed Henry Jamess autobiographical writing “The Middle Years” as his mid-night distraction， which parallels his own life course.Therefore， the novella can be deconstructed as a reinterpretation of The Diary of Anne Frank， or a salutation to a senior writer.And we can never decide which is the “true story”.

ⅡThe Narrative Dilemma

It is a story about writers and their writing， yet throughout the novella we could not find a writer who is not obsessed with problems in his or her writing.

Zuckerman shows up with the burden of being doubted the rights of writing.He is deemed as a detrimental factor， a betrayal of the Jews by his father， and when he seems to have picked up some faith at Lonoffs.The ambiguity between Lonoff and Amy falls him into the frustrated situation again.He finds himself “overwhelmed by life itself into an awareness of the poverty of his talent”（Kartiganer 166）， and in such an imaginative frustration， he is desperately in need of an outlet.

Being an accomplished writer and the “Maestro” in the ordinary worlds eyes， Lonoff uses “frantic” to describe the stumbled situation in writing and called his life “boredom” and “waste”.Under the fame of “Maestro”， the incapacity of expression never lets him get away.And when Amy appears in Zuckermans fantasy as the once most gifted writer Anne Frank， she unexceptionally falls into the same fate.She is said to have a “great subject”（119） in English class， but when she looks back at her old dairy， she is amazed at the gifted writing that she could never recapture.

Either consciously or not， in The Ghost Writer， Philip Roth presents us with an infectious narrative dilemma among his characters， who could not， would not fully express themselves， and are compelled to search for another way out.

Ⅲ A Practical Solution

There seems to be certain plausible solutions.Lonoff manages to maintain his work as well as his dignity.Amy， or Anne Frank， attributes her former masterpiece to the severe isolated living condition， yet Zuckerman has to seek a mortal way.His art is about the ordinary world.He depends on the real life to shape his fiction.And through his imagined Anne， Philip Roth puts forward the idea of impersonation—“to impersonate everything that I wasnt”（133）—which has long been the essence of his practical solution of the narrative dilemma.Zuckerman makes his way through impersonation.He masks himself with his characters identities yet at the same time exposes his own.Like the ventriloquist， we could not tell the boundary between those two， and an intriguing artistic effect is revealed.

The entire story of The Ghost Writer can be seen as a half-successful journey of impersonation in which the protagonist constantly switches his target but never gives away.Through the “Zuckerman—as—Amy—as—Anne Frank”（Kartiganer 162） impersonation， the protagonist finishes his suffering growing phase， and Philip Roth gets to say all he wants to say through his “Lonovian—as—Zuckermanian” tale.Impersonation is the key that allows us to make our way through the maze of texts and approach the core meaning of the novella.

While talking about the theme of The Ghost Writer， Roth comments that it can be finally concluded as “the difficulties of telling a Jewish story”（Roth， RMAO 144）.Behind all their unspeakable torturing experiences and their different ways of detachment against the society， there is in fact the haunting memory of the Holocaust that traps these writers into their own narrative dilemma.In order to tell the “true story”， one has to break “the ultimate Silence”（Kartiganer 168）—the Holocaust， otherwise he could only ever struggle in contradiction and frustration.

S.Lillian Kremer points out that “embedded in the narrations of individual lives and recent Jewish history are questions about the nature of fiction and reality， the purposes of writing and storytelling.”（66） When Roth frames his fiction in such a complex way， he is actually showing his readers the problem of a typical Jewish writer and the only possible entrance he could find.Impersonation， as the only means of understanding the Holocaust， gets him out of the silence， and endows him with the access of speaking the unspeakable memory.

References：

[1]Berryman，Charles.Philip Roth and Nathan Zuckerman： A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Prometheus.Contemporary Literature 31.2（1990）：177-190.

[2]Kartiganer Donald.Ghost-writing： Philip Roths portrait of the artist.AJS Review 12.1/2（1988）：153-169.

[3]Kermode，Frank.Romantic Image.London： Routledge & Kegan Paul，1957.

[4]Kremer，S.Lillian.Philip Roths Self-Reflexive Fiction.Modern Language Studies 28（1998）： 57-72.

[5]Roth，Philip.The Ghost Writer.New York： Penguin Books，1979

---.Reading Myself and Others.New York： Penguin Books，1985.

[6]O'Donnell，Patrick.The Disappearing Text： Philip Roths The Ghost Writer.Contemporary Literature 24.3（1983）：365-378.