Marcus transfers to Winesburg from Robert Treat College in Newark to escape his father, a kosher butcher, who appears to have become consumed with fear about the dangers of adult life, the world, and the uncertainty that awaits his son.

Early in the novel, Marcus explains that he is dead and telling his story from the afterlife; later it is revealed that he is unconscious from his combat wounds and the morphine that has been administered.

Film producer Scott Rudin bought the rights to Indignation in April 2008, five months before the book was scheduled to be published.

[3] In September 2008, Lauren Lipton argued on Portfolio.com that Rudin was unwise to acquire the rights to the book "given Roth's Hollywood track record," saying that, "of his many tomes, only a few have made it to the big screen to date.

It was directed and written by James Schamus (in his directorial debut), and starred Logan Lerman as Marcus, Sarah Gadon as Olivia, and Tracy Letts as Dean Caudwell.