Mistaken Identities: The Uses of Matthew Henson and Charles Drew in Philip Roth's The Human Stain

Abstract

This essay discusses Roth's use of the trope of "mistaken identity," of which the universal misconception that the disgraced Coleman Silk is a "white" Jewish professor is the most salient example. Scherr's close examination of the motif yields diverse insights, focusing on Ernestine's pseudo-historical commentary on the fate of African American cultural icons Matthew Henson and Dr. Charles Drew. He argues that Roth's emphasis on the fabled friendship between Silk and Nathan Zuckerman, Roth's "alter brain," transcends the tragic linkage between "politically correct" historical myth-making, public ignorance, and multiculturalism.