American Pastoral written by Philip Roth is a novel that revolves around the character of Seymour "Swede" Levov, a successful Jewish American businessman and former star high school athlete from New Jersey. In the 1960s, the Swede's pastoral life was turned upside down when his daughter Merry, a teenage anti-war protester, was the prime suspect in a post office bombing in which the town doctor, a innocent passerby, is killed. Through a variety of literary devices, Roth argues that ultimately, no matter how hard one tries to keep things neat and orderly, chaos eventually takes over everything. Roth uses a series of flashbacks to convey a sense of chaos. Flashbacks take place within flashbacks and "the central plot – what happens to the Swede [and his family] – takes place among smaller subplots or partial plots – [what happens to the Swede's brother, their parents and to the narrator]" (). The novel begins at a 45th high school reunion attended by the narrator, Nathan Zuckerman. At this reunion in 1995, Zuckerman met one of his former classmates, Jerry Levov, who told him about his older brother, the Swede Levov, who had recently died. Jerry informs Zuckerman of the Swede's traumatic life after his daughter's involvement in the anti-Vietnam War movement and the rest of the novel is compiled from Zuckerman's posthumous reconstruction of the Swede's life. As Zuckerman enters the Swede's story, it seems like everything is happening from the Swede's point of view, whether it's reading his thoughts when watching an action, his emotions when recounting an event or his mind tortured as he looks back. and relives an event. These flashbacks and transitions from the reunion to the scenes from the Swede's life to the Swedes middle of paper......but his daughter undid it for him. Through the use of these literary devices, Roth proves that ultimately, no matter how hard one tries to maintain an orderly life, chaos will eventually overtake everything. The Levovs' lives in this novel are used as a projection of what chaos is like in real life. It's complicated and unexpected. American Pastoral is an exaggeration of what happens in real life. The aim of the novel is not to disillusion its readers and frighten them in the face of the unexpected. Roth reaches out to his readers by telling them that yes, there is chaos and uncertainty in life. The unexpected awaits everyone, but that's the reality, life has no meaning. Works Cited Roth, Philip. American pastoral. New York: Vintage International, 1997. PrintMilne, Mark, ed. Novels for Students Volume 25. Michigan: Thomson Gale Corporation, 2007.Print.