Seldon

Seldon Wishnow- by kate and car!

Summary At the beginning of the novel, Seldon, an only child, lives beneath the Roth's with his mother and father. However, in the middle of the story, his dad dies. Philip believes that Seldon's dad killed himself. Seldon is younger than Philip, but is very attached to him. Seldon loves eating fig newtons and playing chess. However, Seldon does not have very many friends. Because of this, Philip is often guilted into playing chess with him. Seldon looks up to Philip and considers him his best friend. Seldon is the smartest student in his class, however, he wouldn't be considered "street smart". Seldon is comical to Philip at times throughout the story, but most of the time is extremely annoying. At one point in the story, Seldon saves Philip's life and never lets Philip forget it. Seldon is oblivious to the big events going on around him, such as the riots against the Jews. Seldon moves with his mother to Kentucky, because of Philip. In Kentucky, Seldon's mom is brutally killed by the people rioting against the Jews. During this situation, Seldon remains oblivious and always fears the worst. Overall, Seldon is an awkward, clingy boy with good intentions that depends on Philip for everything.

Analysis Like the main character Philip, Seldon is also a very complicated character to understand. Although Philip describes Seldon as extremely different from him, they are very closely linked throughout the story. Philip never refers to Seldon as his friend, but it can be understood that Seldon is basically the closest Philip has to a best friend. For example, the importance they have for each other is shown when Philip nearly dies after being kicked in the head by a horse. Seldon, by chance, saves Philip's life. On the opposite end, Philip is Seldon’s greatest pipeline of support. After losing his father, and eventually his mother, Seldon gradually becomes more and more dependent on Philip. This is clearly evident in the last sentence of the novel. According to Rabinowitz, the end of a novel is a privileged position, in which authors can provide ideas that are crucially significant and central to the author’s ideas. At the end of __The Plot Against America,__ Roth focuses on Seldon and Philip’s relationship. This is a great example of how significant of an impact each of these characters has on one another. By this point, Philip not only feels the pressure Seldon has placed on him throughout the novel, but feels guilt for essentially provoking the death of Seldon’s mother. By then he knows that he has supported Seldon in several ways, while also providing Seldon with much grief. Referring back to the last line of the novel, Roth does a great job of summarizing their relationship with the synonym of a stump and prosthesis.