Analysis of the main character in Philip Roth’s novel American Pastoral

American Pastoral is a novel published by American novelist Philip Milton Roth. As Houghton Mifflin states, American Pastoral “is the story of a fortunate American's rise and fall - of a strong confident master of social equilibrium overwhelmed by the forces of social disorder.“ The main character of this story is a young man, Seymour Irving Levov with a nickname “the swede“ acquired by his unusual appearance and qualities uncommon for a Jew. As the story evolves, the readers get deeper insight into Seymour Levov’s inner world and characteristics such as appearance, athleticism, successfulness and the search of American dream are revealed.