Diaphragm Symbol Analysis in Goodbye, Columbus

Philip Roth’s novella “Goodbye, Columbus” is an old fiction dealing with romance and the religious concept between a couple. In the novella, Neil Klugman is dealing with a dangerous love cycle with Brenda Patimkin. Twenty-three-year-old Neil lives in Newark with his Aunt and Uncle, where he works at a library. Neil’s cousin Doris infers an event at the Green Lane Country club where Neil will meet Brenda. Brenda Patimkin is a wealthy Jewish who gets into a relationship with Neil. “The first time I saw Brenda, she asked me to hold her glasses,” stated in the first sentence of the novella. This shows the first connection between the couple, expanding later in the story, with Neil calling Brenda the day he held her glasses. Philip Roth chooses his symbols, plot sequence, and themes to match the novella to a romance genre. 

The Goodbye Columbus Record and the diaphragm are symbols of Goodbye, Columbus that will reveal Neils thoughts and beliefs. To start, the first symbol that Philip Roth persuades is the record given to Brenda's brother, Ron, after he graduated. Ron asks Neil, “Brenda ever play it for you?” Ron then plays the Columbus Record, where the school song and highlights were played. Neil's thoughts on the record are conspicuous because it was a record used for a happier time. The second symbol will be the diaphragm, which is a significant part of the novella. The diaphragm will represent Neil’s desire to dominate the sexual relationship between the couple. Neil persuades Brenda to have a diaphragm to show her love to Neil. Brenda's parents eventually find out about the diaphragm in Brenda’s drawer once Brenda leaves for Boston. Mrs. Patimkin then sends Brenda a letter describing the situation about the diaphragm. This will lead to Neil being abandoned due to Brenda not feeling wanted by her family. 

Philip Roth develops the plot of a story to distinguish the controversy between Jewish and Americans. Philip Roth starts off the novella with Neil holding Brenda’s glass as Brenda dives into the pool. Neil’s aspect of Brenda will impact their relationships when Brenda’s parents get involved. Brenda Paptimkin's nose job is the first plot that is unapproved by Neil. Neil is not satisfied with a bone being extracted from Brenda's nose, offending the Jewish religion. Throughout the novella, Philip Roth shows a lot of fights between Neil and Brenda. The first fight Philip Roth portrays in the relationship is finding out Brenda is leaving for college. On top of Brenda going, Brenda is asked to purchase a diaphragm to please Neil. Although Brenda is not tied to the idea of setting up an appointment with a doctor, she gets a diaphragm anyway to please Neil. Neil’s acceptance to ask Brenda to buy a diaphragm signifies the doubt of not wanting to create a family with Brenda. Philip Roth’s idea of including the diaphragm will show the way Neil wants the relationship to lead.Once Brenda leaves for Boston to start studying, Neil gets lonely and meets Brenda one evening at a hotel. Neil and Brenda then reveal a letter written by Brenda’s parents, finding out about the purchase of the diaphragm hidden in Brenda’s drawer. The lack of responsibility from Brenda will lead to a breakup between the two couples. Neil leaves Brenda when times get rough and notices that the library is where he needs to be.

Along with the plots, Philip Roth shows many themes of the novella, including love, power, and wealth. Philip Roth's central theme shown throughout the novella is love. The love between Neil and Brenda is complicated due to the lack of communication between a couple. The love Neil has for Brenda is not equal due to each individual taking control of the relationship. Philip Roth also demonstrates competition between the couple, including races on the track and in the pool. Although competition is regular for relationships, Neil and Brenda's games usually determine who controls the relationship. For example, on page 43, Brenda says, “Let’s see who’s faster,” as a way of competing with one another. Mr. Roth demonstrates the failure of a relationship can be impacted by irregular power by both individuals and the lack of communication. Philip Roth demonstrates the power of Neil and Brenda. Brenda's first control of the relationship was to set up an exercise schedule with Neil. On page 44, Brenda states, “Let's do this every morning, she said. “We’ll get up and have two grapefruits, and then you’ll come out here and run. I’ll time you.” Philip Roth's strategy to have Brenda dialogue this phrase demonstrates the first high amount of power in the relationship. Neil was not satisfied with Brenda taking control of the relationship, so Neil came back with his idea of regulating the relationship with sex. Neil's way of describing their first time making love together was “so sweet” as a way of enjoying the time. Neil frames that sex will be a competition that he will win against Brenda. So he tells Brenda to go to the doctor, claiming she is married, and get a prescription for a diaphragm. Even though Brenda is not pleased with the idea of lying, she goes anyway due to the high power of Neil. The third theme of Philip Roth's analysis is the wealth between Neil and Brenda. Neil observes that the Patimkin family seems to divert religious belief toward the culture of America due to the amount of wealth. 

Philip Roth’s novella Goodbye, Columbus showed reasonable symbols, plot sequences, and themes meant to create sexual content. Mr. Roth's idea of creating the novella was to describe Brenda and Neil's religion and sexual relations. One symbol of Goodbye, Columbus was The Columbus records which gave the novella impact. Along with the record, the diaphragm was also a symbol that made the novella enjoyable as it introduced the meaning of a diaphragm. The plot of the story showed various arguments with the couple and the college move-out. The novella's theme also gave the story meaning as to why love, power, and wealth will all come into play. Even though the novella is built around love, an individual's power and wealth could affect the love for each other. For example, Brenda competing with Neil to determine who has the upper hand in the relationship can cause multiple scenarios.