In Goodbye, Columbus, Neil Klugman and Brenda Patimkin are from two different social and economic classes. He is a middle-class city boy and she is a wealthy suburbanite. These factors severely test their relationship, but that's not the main point. This almost clichéd rich girl/poor boy dichotomy is the breeding ground for author Philip Roth to place ideas of society and class in a frantic debate. It's like Aladdin and Jasmine, except the Jewish New Jersey version. Class issues such as race, ethnicity, religion, economy, industry, and employment all splay out messily against the love affair.
Questions About Society and Class
- Are Neil and Carlotta of the same economic class? How do you know? Is there enough information to tell?
- Who is more concerned about class, Brenda or Neil?
- Why does Neil get mad when Brenda says she goes to school in Boston?
- Is it significant that Neil finds his identity in the reflection of the library at Harvard University? Why or why not? If you need to do some research to answer, where would you start?
Chew on This
Brenda tries to change Neil so he will fit in among her friends and family.
Part of the reason Brenda and Neil's relationship fails is because Neil doesn't let her into his life, or his society. Brenda expresses no interest in meeting Aunt Gladys, or seeing him where he works; this fuels his insecurity.