Character Clues

Character Analysis

Location

Neil and all the other characters are very location-conscious. Where you live is who you are in Goodbye, Columbus. As we discuss in "Setting," the spacious and opulent suburb of Short Hills is placed in opposition to the crowded, poverty-stricken city of Newark. Doris's family and the Patimkin family are characterized by the fact that they've moved from Newark to the suburbs. This characterizes them as upwardly mobile—literally: we are told that the suburbs lie some 180 feet above the city (1.67). If there's a random fact like that thrown into a story, you know it's significant.

Occupation

The story is as much about Neil's romantic life as it is about his occupation. When we first meet him, he works at the library. Neil isn't sure if it's the job for him, though. He doesn't come right out and say it, but after seeing his possible future as an employee of Patimkin Sinks, the library looks like a more viable option. Not that there is anything wrong with working at Patimkin Sinks—it just doesn't seem to be for Neil. At the end of the story, after seeing an image of himself as being full of books (see "What's Up With the Ending?"), he embraces his identity as a librarian. You do you, Neil.

Names

When Jerry Mangione interviewed Roth in 1966, he told him about an essay called "The Sadness of Philip Roth" by Joseph Landis. In it, Landis claimed that "'Klugman' has two meanings [in Yiddish]: If you say 'KLUGman' it means 'smart fellow,' but if you say 'KLOOGman,' it means 'mourner' or 'sad fellow'" (source). In response to this, Roth told Mangione that he didn't even know that much Yiddish, and wasn't aware of these meanings when he named Neil. Still, Landis's observation works nicely. Neil is definitely clever, but there is something a little sad about him, too. He seems to judge most of the people around him so harshly that he isolates them and himself, and that's just kind of sad. Maybe that explains why he feels he belongs in a library—there aren't many opportunities to connect with others when you have to be quiet all day.