The Plot Against America - Characters

Book by Philip Roth, 2004

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[CHARACTERS]

    The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth, focuses on the lives of the oppressed Jewish community in the alternate version of 1940's American history. Chiefly, the story centers itself around the protagonist, Philip Roth. (it is assumed this is the younger version of the author) Here, however, we focus on his father, Herman.

    Herman Roth is a faithful Jewish American. He openly broadcasts his Jewish beliefs and shows his disdain for anything else. In the time segment of November 1940 - June 1941 titled "Loudmouth Jew", the story follows up on the impact of Hitlerite ideas and Lindbergh's inauguration as President. Previously, Herman's son Philip was affected by the anti-Semitism, "[...] I fell out of bed and woke up on the floor, this time screaming. Yosemite in California, Grand Canyon in Arizona, Mesa Verde in Colorado, Crater Lake in Oregon, Acadia in Maine, Mount Rainier in Washington, Yellowstone in Wyoming, Zion in Utah, Glacier in Montana, the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee -- and across the face of each, across the cliffs, the woods, the rivers, the peaks, the geyser, the gorges, the granite coastline, across the deep blue water and the high waterfalls, across everything in America that was the bluest and the greenest and the whitest and to be preserved forever in these pristine reservations, was printed a black swastika." (Roth 43) This was the anti-Semitism nightmare that Philip had, after Lindbergh was inaugurated. This is also the same attitude that spread to Herman Roth.

    Herman Roth, the Loudmouth Jew, is proud of his religious stance and when this religious threat came across America, he defended himself and his family. After the Roth family visited the Lincoln Memorial, they overheard an elderly woman compare Lincoln to Lindbergh, in which Herman clearly and publicly displayed his disgust. Afterwards, Herman was left with the feeling of satisfaction of making his point clear, and it was heard, "[...] refer to my father as 'a loudmouth Jew', followed a moment later by the elderly lady declaring, 'I'd give anything to slap his face.'" (Roth 65) Herman afterwards was left in a similarly rebellious mood of declaring his hatred for Lindbergh, who supports Hitler and anti-Semitism.

 

    A different character, Seldon, is the forced friend of Philip's. Seldon is the nieghbors' only son, living now only with his mother, as his father killed himself shortly after Lindbergh became President. Seldon is a very lonely kid, emphasized by his love for chess, and his fractured family. Philip despises Seldon, wishing he would stop following him around.
    Seldon is only a child, and his perceptions of the world are limited. He clings tightly to what little he knows, seeming clueless at times or annoying to Philip, a few years his senior. For example, Seldon's behavior was more clingy after the suicide of his father, "My aversion of him had grown stronger, and at the end of the day, I hid back at school when I knew he was out front waiting to walk me home [...] and there would be Seldon at my heels, acting as if he turned up by accident." (Roth 189) Here, Seldon has become more reliant on Philip, to the point of irritating him with his childish antics.
    Additionally, Seldon's clueless side shows later after he'd been relocated by the government. Moments after the Jewish radical Winchell had been assassinated by unreasonable Republicans, the Roth family made a call to the family of Seldon's. Only Seldon was home at the time, and his responses are a frustration to the Roths, as they seemed forgetful and reflected inadequacy, "'[Mrs. Roth] No. Just eat your snack---' '[I think I've had enough Fig Newtons now, but thanks anyway.' '[Mrs. Roth] Goodbye, Seldon' '[Seldon] I like Fig Newtons, though.'" (Roth 280) With this, Seldon has displayed himself as a youthful, innocent boy with a gram of knowledge and less so of awareness. This is only one of multiple examples of his childishness. Seldon is only a minor character, but plays a role in the fractured, life-changing childhood of Philip Roth.

The Plot Against America - Analysis

Book by Philip Roth, 2004

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    [ANALYSIS]

    The Plot Against America, by Philip Roth, is centered around a seven-year-old boy who is assumed to be the a younger version of the author, as they go by the same name. This young Philip Roth is an American Jew, in the 1940's. This, however, is an alternate form of history. After Roosevelt is finished with his second term, the Republicans elect the young, brave, and bright Charles A. Lindbergh to be president. This is the same Lindbergh who flew the Spirit of St. Louis.

    The book's chapters are set chronologically, each chapter longer than a normal chapter, as they are the measure of usually two to six months worth of material. The content is split between focusing on the Roth family and their struggles as a Jewish family, and the political aspect of the book, the fact that Lindbergh openly supported Hitler, which divides the whole of America. With this, the author glorifies all Jewish folk and the Democrats, and essentially tears down the 1940's versions of all Catholics and Republicans, both of which are supporting of Hitler in this time. As I'm basically halfway through the book, the Roth family has so far seen horrors in their time. Philip's cousin Alvin has gone to fight Hitler in Canada, and come back without one leg. Their father of the family next door killed himself out of despair, not only because the father was a Jew, he had lung cancer and was essentially disabled. His days were marked to him anyways, and as Lindbergh took over America, all hope was lost.

    This alternate history, the change of one person's role, drastically makes this book different from real history. A man named Walter Winchell, a Jewish Democrat who was originally a radio host (and later fired by hateful Republicans) took up candidacy for the next term of presidency. This inspired riots, called the Winchell riots, which led to politically-blinded, unreasonable Republicans making frequent attempts on his life. America was divided thoroughly, more so than in real history, due to a single man, Lindbergh, and his plans for passing the Hitlerites' ideas into America.

 

    The following link is to Lindbergh's real history, one not as President:

    http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/ 

WWZ - Book Recommendation

Book by Max Brooks, 2006

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    [BOOK RECOMMENDATION]

    This book, despite being a dystopian / zombie book, is a deep, intricately-written novel. The amount of detail put into it is astonishing, along with the research Brooks apparently did, describing cultural references and specifics that only an expert would know. The book covers 23 different characters, though some are repeated, like the Chicagoan soldier Todd Wainio, who appeared the most in the book: four times. This tally of 23 doesn't count the Interviewer, who has a unique personality, bringing in a little bit of dry wit to the seriousness of the book. The book contains more than its fair share of expletives and graphic descriptions, though these are associated with certain characters, giving each their own personality and view on life. 

    The layout of the book is completely an interview format, giving a very special tone of both professionalism and casualness to the plot. The book, regardless, gives an easy-flowing story-line by having the characters talk about different aspects, areas, and attitudes specific to their location and upbringing, and all the while keeping a clear, chronological order to it. The book is fairly easy to read, offering challenges sporadically throughout the text, though I found the story refreshingly simple to read regardless. 

    The story is essentially starts with the Interviewer reporting his complaints to his boss about the story of the Zombie War, how the report they gave was all facts and figures, without human emotion and personal opinion. He is advised to make a book from precisely what he has - the interviews. The story expands on the cause of the uprisings, the initial handling, the failures, the panic, the switch from white to blue-collar dominance, the survival of the common people, the second handling, and the finale. Ultimately, I'd rate this a 9/10, and a brilliant book.

WWZ - Theme and Summary

Book by Max Brooks, 2006

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[THEME AND SUMMARY] 

    Yes, of all genres, the zombie book actually has a theme. And don't think it's something about the best way to survive a zombie apocalypse, because it's not. This book is amazing because of the thought, research, and incredible characterization that has been compiled into it. The theme, in my opinion, is something along the lines of: Trust and rationality are what keeps the unity, as humans become nothing without it. Explanation: The people of Earth, encountered with the zombie breakouts, would often become isolated cities left to their own devices. Some did well. Other fell apart, succumbing to the plagues of greed, insanity, and the loss of will. One example of the things that constantly threatened the people was: "ADS, that was my enemy: Asymptomatic Demise Syndrome, or, Apocalyptic Despair Syndrome, depending on who you were talking to... no one understood what was happening at first... some were in perfect health. They simply go to sleep one night and not wake up the next morning. The problem was physiological, a case of just giving up, not wanting to see tomorrow because you know it would only bring more suffering." (Brooks 159) ADS was a cause in some of the place hit harder by the loss of need for white-collar workers. People weren't prepared for a sudden shift in their comfortable way of life, and simply died, not committing suicide, not succumbing to injuries nor diseases, simply not wanting to live anymore. Like Princess Amidala from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, when she died because she gave up. Some people handled things unlike the prewar times yet succeeded due to different circumstances, further proving my theme, is: "Yes, there was the fear of pain - the lash, the cane - but all of that paled back when compared to public humiliation. People were terrified of having their crimes exposed." (Brooks 149) This person, nicknamed "The Whacko", was a VP during the war, and was discussing the forms of punishment used. He said that people thought is was barbaric at first, but realized the logic behind it. People were more desperate, and needed more severe punishment to keep everyone in line and not committing crimes because they thought it would be their last days.

    The theme does reflect some real life issues. For one, modern problems like the government shutdown is a connection to the theme. Trust and rationality are important. Excuse me for defending my political view, but the Republicans acted irrationally, very irrationally, at a single law, shutting down the entire government because of it. They were mistrustful, thinking that the law was not worthy of being in place, not trusting the good it could bring. Sure, there are some things the Democrats got wrong too, as they are also guilty of mistrust and irrationality, and what does this whole predicament bring to us? A debt ceiling, the impossibility of reverence towards our great nation's history, and more and more childish, pathetic actions and feelings that have kept our country in a horrible gridlock, a stasis brought about only by the reluctance to trust one another and the actions of each other, additionally the hasty, short-sighted, and disgustingly childish reactions that both sides are known to do. This real life and frankly important issue is reflected with my theme for World War Z.

    The story utilizes the zombies to show the people of the Earth how the past ways of life are the better ways of life, which is similiar to the age Age of Romanticism, which idolized past lives. The zombies created such an unusual enemy that none of the modern attempts at persuasion through force (shock and awe) will affect them. Similarly, modern weapons and techniques are pretty much pointless, "It was a monument to American technical prowess...and in this war, that prowess counted for [expletive deleted]. That must have been frustrating. Frustrating? Do you know what it feels like to be told that the one goal [...] is considered 'strategically invalid'? Would you say this is a common feeling? Let me put it this way; the Russian army wasn't the only service to be decimated by their own government [...] Some DeStRes 'experts' had determined that our resource-to-kill ratio, our RKR, was the most lopsided of all the branches [...] Now we were told that the price of one JSOW kit [...] could pay for a platoon of infantry pukes who could smoke a thousand times as many Gs." (Brown 168-9) This person, Colonel Christina Eliopolis, used to be the pilot of an FA-22, and claimed it could "outfly and outfight God and all his angels." (Brown 168) However, this technology proved to be not worth much against a zombie who could physiologically not be scared, and wouldn't die without destruction of the brain. The army must convert to older methods of warfare to fight.

WWZ - Analysis

Book by Max Brooks, 2006

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    Don't be put off by the zombie genre: the book is much different from other zombie books in the fact that it has a thread of feeling inside, effectively making an emotionally catching book unlike others in the genre.

   This book is remarkable in my opinion, because the entire book is set in interviews that take place in a postwar time, yet the book manages to follow 23 characters from different backgrounds, occupations, and moods, and yet tell a gripping, exciting story that actually has meaning. 

[ANALYSIS]

    ANALYSIS OF SETTING: The setting in World War Z is the entire world, considering the fact that it's called a "World War". The way the book is written gave the unique insight as to the different cultures handling the crisis at different times and in different manners. For example, Sensei Tomonaga Ijiro, a blind Japanese sensei, survived the zombie outbreak in an orderly, solitary manner. He believed heavily in Japanese spirits. "There was no need to be on my guard until they entered what you might call my 'circle of sensory security', the maximum range of my ears, nose, fingertips, and feet. On the best days, when the conditions were right and Haya-Ji was in a helpful mood, that circle extended as far as half a kilometer. On the worst of days, that range might drop to no more than thirty, possibly fifteen paces. These incidents were infrequent at best, occurring if I had done something to truly anger the kami..." (Brown 223-4) Sensei Tomonaga was a heavy believer in the Japanese spirits, considering he was a blind, which was an outcast where he's from, and yet he survived the outbreak. Sensei Tomonaga also used a Aino prayer stick called an ikupasuy, which was a specific item seen usually only in Japan with the Ainos, a native people low in the social ladder. As a younger, blind person, Tomonaga was able to effectively fend off the zombies using the ikupasuy, and lived a modest, solitary life until he apprenticed Kondo Tatsumi, a previous character who used to be an acne-ridden computer geek. "All I had with me was a water bottle, a change of clothes, and my ikupasuy [...] Did you always kill your enemy on the first strike? Always. [He gestures with an imaginary ikupasuy] Thrust forward, never swing. At first I would aim for the base of the neck. Later, as my skills grew with time and experience, I learned to strike here...

    Another character, Stanley McDonald, was part of the Third Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and he encountered the zombies while in a search for drug dealers in Kyrgyzstan, one of the earliest outbreaks. It is interesting to note that one of the previous characters, a smuggler of people, said she often made runs, coming across a rich man in a cab, who looked beat-up and obviously bitten, the driver heading towards Kyrgyzstan, and this single person is thought to have started the outbreak in Kyrgyzstan. Stanley fought back with gunfire, and fell in with his country to fight against the zombies, unlike Sensei. They told him to be ready, but he said: "I thought I was ready for anything. [He looks out at the valley, his eyes unfocused] Who in his right mind could have been ready for this?" (Brooks 21)
    Imagery plays a part in the gruesome description of the mindlessness of the zombies: "Beyond them, in the first chamber, we saw our first evidence of a one-sided firefight, one-sided because only one wall of the cavern was pockmarked by small arms. Opposite that wall were the shooters. They'd been torn apart. Their limbs, their bones, shredded and gnawed...some still clutching their weapons, one of those severed hands with an old Makarov still in the grip." (Brown 19-20) The start of WWZ would bring the disturbing elements quickly.

An ikupasuy of the Aino culture.

WWZ - Characters

Book by Max Brooks, 2006

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    [CHARACTERS] 

    Part of what made this book boggling for me was the fact that it has 23 characters, not counting the minor characters, but including the Interviewer. Besides the interviewer, who appears in every chapter (the book is completely based on interviews) the character to appear the most is Todd Wainio, an American soldier from Chicago, appearing a whopping four times out of the 330 pages of the book.

    

    That said, this book is rather terrible for focusing on a single character, but amazing for the variety - this detailed the whole world (or most of it: North Korea was more of a lone wolf) fighting their own versions of the "Zombie War" and eventually uniting. Considering that I can't focus on more than one person for the character analysis, I'll focus on the most repetitive [concrete] character: Todd Wainio. 

    TODD WAINIO: Todd was part of the infantry, and a survivor of one of the first battles of the Great Panic, the first wave of zombies that had everyone scared. Todd was explaining the supposed readiness of the army, just until they realized that the conventional high-tech weaponry won't cut it for the zombies: "Dude, we had everything: tanks, Bradleys, Humvees armed with everything from fifty cals to these Vasilek heavy mortars. At least those might have been useful. We had Avenger Humvee mounted Stinger surface-to-air missile sets, we had this AVLB portable bridge layer system, perfect for the three-inch deep creek that ran by the freeway [...] I saw a SAW gunner, a light machine gun that you're supposed to fire in short, controlled bursts about as long as it takes to say 'Die [expletive omitted] die.' The initial burst was too low. I caught one square in the chest. I watched him fly backward, hit the asphalt, then get right back up again as if nothing had happened. Dude...when they get back up..." (Brooks 94-100) Todd, at the Battle of Yonkers, said that the army was the last line of defense, but they were hopelessly outmatched and not fitted correctly. The zombies would get right back up. 

    The previous paragraph describes how Todd feels about the conflict, which is external. Todd, at first is desperate, realizing that the zombies will overrun them if they don't fight hard. They ran, giving up. The last few paragraphs said "Yonkers was supposed to be the day we restored confidence to the American people, instead we practically told them to kiss their [butt] goodbye." (Brooks 104)

    Todd changed by the end of the book by describing his more recent feelings (again, this is mostly an interview book) and how he felt different than how he did as a soldier at Yonkers. "That was us, standing on the Jersey riverbank, watching the dawn over New York. We'd just got the word, it was VA Day (Victory of America, celebrating the purge of the zombies) There was no cheering, no celebration. It just didn't seem real. Peace? What the hell did that mean? I'd been afraid for so long, fighting and killing, and waiting to die, that I guess I just accepted it as normal for the rest of my life. I thought it was a dream, sometimes it feels like one, remembering that day, that sunrise over the Hero City." (Brooks 342) These are the last words of the book. Todd lived a soldier, and changed by snapping out of the fear that had become so normal for the survivors of the Zombie War.

    One of the most important things I should mention, as it is detailed throughout several of the characters that fought the zombies, including Todd, was that World War Z was favoring of old-world war values over that of the modern times: nowadays, you can win wars by 'starving' the enemy of necessities, or by striking them with fear. Zombies cannot feel fear nor do they starve nor weaken with time. Todd even explained how he and his army adopted an older melee scythe-like weapon called a Lobo that was more effective against the zombies than traditional guns. Additionally, an older, wooden gun (because wood took less time to manufacture) was more effective than the previous guns.

Inferno - Book Recommendation

Book by Dan Brown, 2013

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     [BOOK RECOMMENDATION]

     I would definitely recommend Inferno to anyone looking to read an exciting book. Personally, I found this book easy to read without much thought, yet simultaneously the book utilized high level diction and complex reading structures. Inferno is a fast-paced, very intellectual, addictive novel, actually the fourth in a series, though I know that the book can generally be understood without previous knowledge of the first three books.

    Taking place in the modern cities of Florence, Venice, and Istanbul, Inferno follows the recurring protagonist Robert Langdon as he wakes from amnesia, despite his eidictic memory. Told he took a bullet wound to the head, Langdon and Sienna Brooks, the doctor who aids Langdon's escape from the assassin, take refuge in her apartment. They find a projector in Langdon's jacket, which shows a modified Botticelli's Map of Hell, a religious piece based on Dante's poem The Divine Comedy. This sets the two on a rigorous journey to not only evade Langdon's own government (who are trying to capture him), but stop the plague of Bertrand Zobrist, also called Inferno.

    The book, which I rated a 10/10, is a beautifully written story, cleverly woven with the religious ties of Dante, Botticelli, and other famous historical figures and events, leaving you wanting more. The story itself, along with the other three Langdon books, is critical of Catholicism recurringly, though the author Dan Brown has denied any animosity towards the Catholic Church on interviews, such as the comedy/news show The Colbert Report.

Refer to my other, more comprehensive posts for more information.