A Father's Gift and a Son's Growth

In response to the question in Jason's post about Philip's true patrimony, I believe that Philip's inheritance is his father's role as a record keeper. As Emily said, Roth's definition of patrimony differs from the conventional meaning in that property is not the primary component of his inheritance. While the property like the shaving mug from his father may serve as keepsake for Roth, the real value comes from the memories and historical knowledge his father passes on to him. By telling Philip the stories of his family, Herman gives him something more than any possession. Herman is passing on his duty as family historian. As Jason mentioned, Herman believes that the most important thing one can have is a memory of the past. Without memories, a man is made of nothing. In the time after the tumor is discovered, Herman reminisces of his childhood and the family members that came before Philip's time. Philip not only remembers the stories but puts many of them into print in this book ensuring that they will be remembered and reread for many years after he would be able to tell them. He also enhances the history his father gives him by doing his own research. The book he buys and gives to his father called The Jewish Boxers' Hall of Fame brings back memories he had from his own childhood and gives him insight into one of his father's favorite pastimes. Even though Philip did not enjoy boxing, he made an effort to learn about it and add it to his memoir because his father "still enjoyed enormously watching boxing on television" (202). By the end of the story Philip has not only taken his father's role and motto that one must never forget anything, but has also done the one thing that Herman could not do himself- make sure that he was remembered and his story was told.