Abstract：Abstract: Jewishness is one of the significant themes expressed in Philip Roth's works. Based on close reading and by interpreting the metaphorical behavior of Eli’s “changing dress” in Eli, the Fanatic, this paper attempts to explore how Philip Roth tackles the conflicts and contradictions between American Jews and those Jewish survivors in WWII and how Jews can better live and develop in American society so as to reveal Roth’ Jewish ethical thoughts advocated in the story: Thinking in others' position, respecting the Jewish tradition and returning to the nature of Jewish ethnicity.
Key words: Philip Roth; Eli, the Fanatic; Jewish ethnicity; Jewishness
