Definition of Communism as Terrorism in Philip Roth's American Pastoral

Abstract

This research is based on Philip Roth’s American Pastoral to expose how the communist revolution is taken as an act of terrorism despite of its own political objectives. The communist cadres in the novel are represented as criminal, monstrous and terrorist. It shows that American ideology tries to govern the world hegemonically. And it exercises institutionalized power over the communist cadres. To accomplish it, America creates a discourse to define them as terrorists. So the writer, in the text, represents Merry as a failure cadre so as to prove that holding communist ideology makes an individual a terrorist. That is only a perspective to create a discourse about the communism in American society is the main argument of this research. So, this research finds that the definition of terrorism about communism is only a discourse. And it is only a perspective to define communism with the help of power.