I Married a Communist (1998) is part of a trilogy -- with American Pastoral (1997) and The Human Stain (2000) -- in which Roth offers his take on some crucial periods in twentieth-century American history. Focussing on the anti-communist fervor in the United States after World War Two, I Married a Communist tells the story of Ira Ringold, a ditchdigger turned radio star, famous for playing figures like Abraham Lincoln in debates about slavery and for criticizing American capitalism and the way it treats its workers. He is one of Roth’s most sharply drawn characters: his credulity, impulsiveness, single-mindedness, and self-destructiveness affect his personal life as profoundly as they do his …
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Citation: Rampton, David. "I Married a Communist". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 September 2009 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21009, accessed 07 October 2024.]