Philip Roth was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 19, 1933. He was raised by his parents, Herman and Besse Finkel Roth, and grew up in a working-class Jewish neighborhood with his younger brother Sandy. His father was an insurance manager for Austro-Hungarian stock and, along with his wife Besse,was a first generation American Jew. After attending Weequahic High School and graduating at the age of 16, Roth decided to rebel against his Jewish society and decided to attend college. He enrolled at Newark College of Rutgers University in 1950.
A year later, Roth transferred to Bucknell University, where he would become a member of Phi Beta Kappa and earn his B.A. in English.