الخطاب
Volume 21, Numéro 2, Pages 491-512
2026-06-30

The Pastoral As National Myth: Ideology, Innocence, And American Exceptionalism In Philip Roth’s American Pastoral (1997)



Authors : Aziz Rabéa .

Abstract

This article interprets Philip Roth’s American Pastoral (1997) as an in-depth critique of the pastoral—not merely as a literary trope but as a national myth that has profoundly influenced American identity. Set against the backdrop of postwar US history, the pastoral appears as an ideological story rooted in ideals of innocence, harmony, and exceptionalism—promising refuge from historical violence and moral contradictions. In the novel, Roth challenges these ideals through Seymour “Swede” Levov, depicting a facade of seamless integration, social order, and moral clarity that masks the illusions of American exceptionalism. The story demonstrates how this pastoral operates ideologically, transforming structural conflicts and political violence into individual anomalies rather than outcomes of broader historical forces. By emphasizing the social and political upheavals of postwar US, American Pastoral reveals the pastoral as a fragile cultural construct whose failure exposes the limits of American innocence. Drawing on theories of myth and ideology (Roland Barthes), American exceptionalism (Sacvan Bercovitch), and narratology, this research shows how Roth’s use of narrative—especially Zuckerman’s retrospective reconstruction—disrupts the pastoral by exposing it as a culturally constructed myth rather than an accurate historical account. Ultimately, American Pastoral deconstructs the pastoral as a core narrative of national identity, replacing it with a view of history characterized by contingency, moral ambiguity, as well as persistent uncertainty and conflict.

Keywords

American exceptionalism ; American Pastoral ; cultural innocence ; ideology and narrative ; Philip Roth ; national myth

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