As World War II broke out and anti-Semitism rocked Europe, Jewish immigrants emigrated to the United States. The Jewish population continued to increase even after World War II, and with a decrease in anti-Semitism throughout the nation, the Jewish population was not discriminated against and was able to find economic and social wealth. One author who depicted Jewish life in America was Phillip Roth, who emphasized the upward mobility of the Jewish communities of New York and New Jersey in his acclaimed novel American Pastoral Having a turn of events, the novel refutes all the dreams of American immigrants and describes colossal events that doom the protagonist's life due to a choice made by his daughter, Phillip Roth explains how past hardships and sins that alter a person's life will eventually cause one to change one's perspective on life. Say no to plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay. In the American pastoral, Roth shows how a fall leads to the continuation of further difficulties in life. Merry Levov detonates a bomb at the post office to protest the Vietnam War. This event is the first of the falls that occur: «The daughter who transports him out of the long-awaited American pastoral and into everything that is its antithesis and its enemy, into the fury, violence and desperation of the counter-pastoral - into the furious indigenous American” (Roth 86). After Seymour's sixteen-year-old daughter Merry detonates a bomb at the local post office, she shames her father. In doing so he killed an innocent bystander. The cheerful explosion of the post office leaves Seymour no longer separated from the American dream he achieved, which included his wealth, his family, and his home. The bomb explosion at the post office also blew up Seymour's life because following this event he experiences other falls. Critics Debora Richey and Mona Kratzert observe: “Just as a collage artist, Roth chooses the pieces that best suit his work, so at the height of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) activity in 1968, Merry detonates her bombshell, exiles her family from their perfect American dream life, and makes redemption impossible for her father. Due to Merry detonating the bomb, her poor choices began to affect other situations and eventually began the collapse of her family. Seymour's relationship with his wife Dawn collapsed because she was having an affair with another man: "The Swede could not stop imagining the details of Orcutt fucking his wife..." (Roth 359). Seymour discovered his wife Dawn and their architect, Bill Orcutt, in their kitchen doing what appeared to be shelling seeds, but in reality they were about to engage in sexual intercourse. Seymour's perfect life continues to neglect him because his wife was no longer in love with him and enjoyed Orcutt much more due to their messy daughter creating tension in the house. Ultimately Dawn wants to get rid of Seymour because he is a constant reminder of Merry who she also wants to get rid of. Critic Derek Parker Royal suggests, "The core of American Pastoral is devoted to imagining the Swede's life after this tragedy: his attempts to find his daughter, his communication with his supposed associates, his and Dawn's emotional difficulties, and the final disintegration of the family". .” The difficulties in Seymour's life continually increase due to the result of a bad decision made and lead to the continuation of other difficulties in thehis life. In addition to the other hardships that occur as a result of Merry's sin, the Maid glove factory in Newark was on the brink of collapse. of having to be shut down: “The Swede found himself resisting public relations, he explained, that what he had held in Newark…” (Roth 27). Seymour inherited her father's glove manufacturing company in Newark. The business was slow at first, but then grew in 1942 during World War II, when the Women's Army Corps ordered dress gloves from the company. Eventually there were factories in Newark, Puerto Rico and the Czech Republic. The company was no longer prospering and was on the verge of bankruptcy because only one of the three factories remained. Critics Debora Richey and Mona Kratzert observe, "The dream of the American immigrant—if one excels, works hard, and is honorable, he will achieve success along with all his dreams—is the myth that Roth debunks." Seymour represents the immigrant American dream because Roth portrays Seymour's life as full of hardship and sin and refutes the myth of that dream. Being successful does not mean that your entire life will continue without the presence of difficulties. Throughout the novel, Roth suggests that hardships and sins occurring in the present change one's perspective. During her trip around the nation after the initial post office bombing incident, Merry had been raped twice: "The most perfect girl of all, her own daughter, had been raped" (Roth 266). Once Seymour discovered that Merry had been abused, he was heartbroken. This shows that while she saw her innocence for a short period of time because even though she was forced to do something she didn't want to do, Seymour did not forget her past. For many, the rape may have masked everything else, but for Seymour he believed that Merry had lost her innocence after bombing the post office. Critic David Brauner writes, “When Seymour first meets Merry following her sudden disappearance following the bombing of the Old Rimrock post office, he is dismayed to discover that she was actually responsible for both that terrorist act (in which a local doctor had been killed) and for two other attacks (in which three other people died)". In the past, Seymour saw Merry as an innocent human being, but since Merry was accused of bombing the post office, he sought her out to confirm that she had actually done it and believed that she was innocent all those years. Meeting her and finding out the truth discourages him because he believed that his daughter had always been innocent and he no longer wanted to preserve her innocence. Seymour realizes that Newark, New Jersey, was not what he remembers it being growing up: “It's the worst town in the world, Skip” (Roth 24). Growing up Seymour was a popular kid at Weeqhauic High School and was an athlete of football, basketball and baseball. Everyone, including his parents, knew him, especially for his good looks because he had blond hair and blue eyes. Newark was an industrial city because many things were produced there. This was before the riots of 1967 that transformed the city into something different, full of crime and criminals. Seymour knows Newark as it currently is and no longer considers it a good place of Swede are disjointed as he searches his memories for a transgression that he can blame for the tragedy that his life has become." Because of the difficulties he encountered in his life, Seymour's ego has taken a hit. His once seemingly perfect life in a perfect city no longer exists and negatively changes his outlook on his life despite his love for it in the past. Dawn replaces an old one.