American Pastoral

by

Philip Roth

Bucky Robinson Character Analysis

Bucky Robinson is the Levovs’ neighbor in Old Rimrock. The Swede meets him at one of Bill Orcutt’s weekend pick-up football games. Bucky knows of the Swede from high school—their respective school football teams were rivals. Bucky, like the Swede, is Jewish, and he encourages the Swede to join the temple in Morristown. This puts the Swede in an uncomfortable position, as he doesn’t care about Judaism all that much and doesn’t want that aspect of his background to define his identity.
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Bucky Robinson Character Timeline in American Pastoral

The timeline below shows where the character Bucky Robinson appears in American Pastoral. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
Heroes, Legends, and Myth-Making  Theme Icon
Family, Responsibility, and Duty  Theme Icon
American Ideals  Theme Icon
...the Swede, are ex-GIs from Essex County. One of these men is an optician named Bucky Robinson. Bucky played quarterback for Hillside High, one of Weequahic High’s rivals. The first time... (full context)
Heroes, Legends, and Myth-Making  Theme Icon
Family, Responsibility, and Duty  Theme Icon
American Ideals  Theme Icon
Once, when the Swede gives Bucky a ride to a local garage to pick up his car, Bucky announces that he... (full context)
Family, Responsibility, and Duty  Theme Icon
...“practicing Judaism means nothing” to him, which caused his mother to cry.  So now, when Bucky Robinson tries to get the Swede involved at the temple, he complains to Dawn, “I... (full context)
Chapter 9
Family, Responsibility, and Duty  Theme Icon
The Irrationality of Suffering  Theme Icon
The Unknowability of Others  Theme Icon
American Ideals  Theme Icon
...game, and so he momentarily showed his athletic prowess to catch a long pass from Bucky Robinson, push Orcutt down, and “prance” off to score. That, the Swede remembers thinking, would... (full context)