Portnoy's Complaint

Portnoy’s Complaint explores the experience of being Jewish in mid-20th century America. Alexander Portnoy obsesses over his ethnic identity and his religious background, veering between pride and rejection on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis. His anxieties reflect many of the tensions of the Jewish experience of American life. Jewish people have lived in North America since the early colonial period. By 1700, for example, several hundred Jewish people had already emigrated to the Thirteen Colonies. Jewish people continued to emigrate to the nascent United States throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Many originated from Eastern Europe, particularly from countries that persecuted Jewish people or suffered from economic problems. A large number of these Jewish immigrants settled in New York City, forming Jewish communities that coexisted alongside other large immigrant communities such as Italian and Irish. By 1915, newspapers printed in Yiddish (a West Germanic/Hebrew language spoken predominantly by Jewish people) had a circulation of 500,000 in New York City, and more than double that number circulated nationally. By the end of the 20th century, states like New York and California were home to more than a million Jewish people. Cities such as New York, Miami, and Los Angeles have larger Jewish populations than most cities outside Israel.

World War II had an important effect on shaping Jewish life in America. An estimated 500,000 Jewish Americans fought in the war. Though only 3% of the United States population at the time was Jewish, approximately half the eligible Jewish males enlisted, and Jewish people represented more than 4% of the armed forces. The persecution of Jewish people in Nazi Germany and other countries also led to a wave of Jewish immigration from Europe. Many fled from the horrors of the Holocaust, and Jewish people already in America feared for their relatives back in Europe. While many found safe haven in the United States, antisemitism was not limited to Europe. As portrayed in Portnoy’s Complaint, the Jewish community in America has long suffered from marginalization, aggression, and outright persecution. As recently as 2019, the Anti-Defamation League found that—while the majority of American citizens praise the Jewish contribution to the American culture—as much as 19% of Americans harbor antisemitic views points.

In Portnoy’s Complaint, Alex vividly feels his Jewish identity at all times. He is keenly aware of his ethnic identity, though he claims to be an atheist. Alex’s experiences illustrate the intersection between ethnic identity and religion for Jewish people in America; even if a Jewish person does not believe in the Jewish faith, they are culturally, ethnically, and demographically Jewish. Alex feels marginalized by his Jewish identity, for example, his experiences with his dietary restrictions, his family’s lack of celebration at Christmas time, and the way women expect him to be well-read and eloquent. His experience of Jewish life in America contrasts with his experiences in Israel, a country where most of the population is Jewish. Even in Israel, however, Alex continues to experience his neuroses, suggesting that many of his issues are more personal rather than simply a product of his Jewish identity.