The Plot Against America

by

Philip Roth

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Alvin’s Prosthesis Symbol Analysis

Alvin’s Prosthesis  Symbol Icon

Philip’s cousin Alvin’s prosthesis symbolizes a lack of support in times of crisis. Early on in the novel, Alvin is angered by the isolationist policies of the new American president Charles Lindbergh—and he’s exasperated by the idea of pursuing a conventional education or a conventional job in a time of such huge turbulence. Rather than sit idly by while anti-Semitism grips America, Alvin runs off to Canada to conscript in the Canadian Army and fight with the British against Hitler in the European theater of World War II. Just months later, the Roths receive word that Alvin, their ward, has been injured in battle and will be coming home—he has lost a leg. The Alvin who returns is different from the fiery Alvin who left for Canada—muted, embarrassed, and emaciated, Alvin is learning how to live with his new disability slowly but surely. Alvin has been fitted with a prosthesis—but while the prosthetic leg given to him allows him to be mobile, it also creates a lot of problems when issues with its fit leave Alvin’s stump raw, bleeding, and covered in new wounds. The continual cycles of relief and pain Alvin suffers as the result of his imperfect prosthesis come to serve as a symbol of the failures of the support systems people count on in times of crisis.

As the political situation in America worsens, the Roths struggle to protect and support one another, as well as their friends and neighbors—and often, they fail to do so. Living in terrifying, unprecedented times makes support and solidarity difficult to provide or, for that matter, to accept. And as the novel unfolds, Alvin’s continual need to abstain from his prosthesis while he heals his wounds before carefully, slowly returning to his reliance on it is an external representation of the delicate balance of familial, societal, and political systems of support and solidarity. At the end of the novel, when Philip’s family takes in the orphaned Seldon Wishnow, Philip sees his broken school friend as a stump—and Philip describes himself as “the prosthesis” which, however ineffectively or imperfectly, serves to prop Seldon up for several years throughout his turbulent childhood. The relationship between stump and prosthesis imprints itself upon Philip, who helps take care of Alvin when he returns from war. It eventually comes to inform the ways in which Philip sees his own responsibility to giving support where he can—even when he feels overwhelmed, overburdened, and imperfect.

Alvin’s Prosthesis Quotes in The Plot Against America

The The Plot Against America quotes below all refer to the symbol of Alvin’s Prosthesis . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Jewish Identity vs. Assimilation Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

“Is it healed?” I asked him.

“Not yet.”

“How long will it take?”

“Forever,” he replied.

I was stunned. Then this is endless! I thought.

“Extremely frustrating,” Alvin said. “You get on the leg they make for you and the stump breaks down. You get on crutches and it starts to swell up. The stump goes bad whatever you do.”

Related Characters: Philip Roth (speaker), Alvin Roth (speaker)
Related Symbols: Alvin’s Prosthesis
Page Number: 136-137
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

This was how Seldon came to live with us. After their safe return to Newark from Kentucky, Sandy moved into the sun parlor and Seldon took over where Alvin and Aunt Evelyn had left off—as the person in the twin bed next to mine shattered by the malicious indignities of Lindbergh’s America. There was no stump for me to care for this time. The boy himself was the stump, and until he was taken to live with his mother’s married sister in Brooklyn ten months later, I was the prosthesis.

Related Characters: Philip Roth (speaker), Sanford “Sandy” Roth, Alvin Roth, Aunt Evelyn, Charles Lindbergh, Seldon Wishnow, Mrs. Wishnow
Related Symbols: Alvin’s Prosthesis
Page Number: 361-362
Explanation and Analysis:
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Alvin’s Prosthesis Symbol Timeline in The Plot Against America

The timeline below shows where the symbol Alvin’s Prosthesis appears in The Plot Against America. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: The Stump
Jewish Identity vs. Assimilation Theme Icon
Isolationism vs. Solidarity Theme Icon
Historical Fact vs. Emotional Truth Theme Icon
Family and Home Theme Icon
...January 1942, having been trained by nurses in Canada to move about on a prosthetic leg, Alvin is discharged from the hospital and sent home with a pension and severance. Herman’s... (full context)
Jewish Identity vs. Assimilation Theme Icon
Isolationism vs. Solidarity Theme Icon
Historical Fact vs. Emotional Truth Theme Icon
Family and Home Theme Icon
...pulls in, Herman and Bess warn Philip not to be afraid of Alvin—or of his leg. Sandy rushes down the platform to meet Alvin, who is being pushed off the train... (full context)
Isolationism vs. Solidarity Theme Icon
Family and Home Theme Icon
...however, is deteriorating—cracked and bloodied, it pains Alvin and prevents him from using his prosthetic leg. One night, Alvin wakes up in the middle the night covered in sweat due to... (full context)
Jewish Identity vs. Assimilation Theme Icon
Isolationism vs. Solidarity Theme Icon
Family and Home Theme Icon
...ease. Soon, Alvin’s stump is healed well enough that he can put on his artificial leg and walk around. After several days of practicing around the house and in the alleyway,... (full context)
Chapter 5: Never Before
Isolationism vs. Solidarity Theme Icon
Family and Home Theme Icon
...obliges him. After his roll, Alvin wins the pot, and after pulling himself up slowly—his prosthesis, Philip can tell, is ailing him—he gives two $10 bills to Philip. (full context)
Chapter 8: Bad Days
Jewish Identity vs. Assimilation Theme Icon
Family and Home Theme Icon
...the money to buy Minna’s engagement ring, he told him: “Minna takes care of your leg, you take care of Minna, and I take care of you.” (full context)
Jewish Identity vs. Assimilation Theme Icon
Family and Home Theme Icon
Alvin’s prosthesis is cracked in two and his stump is badly mutilated by the time the fight... (full context)
Chapter 9: Perpetual Fear
Family and Home Theme Icon
...is taken to live with his aunt in Brooklyn many months later, Philip is Seldon’s “prosthesis.” (full context)