Ragtime Essay

E.L. Doctorow’s novel Ragtime is a story involving certain characters, each trying to find his or her place in America. Doctorow focus’s on many themes throughout the novel, however, one theme that he gives to the reader from the very beginning of the novel is the American dream. Many characters throughout the novel individually take diverse journeys in order to fulfill what they might describe as “The American Dream.” Throughout Ragtime several characters venture upon momentous journeys whether they be sensible or unwise, in order to try and achieve their personal pursuit of the American dream.

Ragtime is an interesting depiction of cultural and political change. It can be argued that the story is not just a reflection of the events in the 20th Century but the novel reflects the events that continue to happen until today in socialism. For instance, the novel gives a glimpse of the kind of life experienced by many African Americans. They were victimized by the society and the persons in authority refuse to help them. Even in the 21st Century, it cannot be denied that African Americans are still subjected to discrimination in socialism. Throughout the stories in this novel character represent that change and partiality.

A lack of self-awareness tended the narrator’s life to seem frustrating and compelling to the reader. This lack often led him to offer generalizations about ““colored” people” without seeing them as human beings. He would often forget his own “colored” roots when doing so. He vacillated between intelligence and naivete, weak and strong will, identification with other African-Americans and a complete disavowal of them. He had a very difficult time making a decision for his life without hesitating and wondering if it would be the right one.

In the beginning chapters of the book, we get a glimpse of the typical home and community of an African American during segregation. Many Africans Americans were too adjusted to the way of living, that they felt

African American individuals still faced inhumane discrimination and were often not looked at as people, let alone cared for or acknowledged. To anyone else, their opinions did not matter and their lives were not valued. The 1930?s was also a time in which America was being rebuilt after the detrimental effects of the Great Depression. Furthermore, there was a greater presence of African Americans in northern states, which brought about racial tension from powerful white figures who did not want African Americans in what they believed to be ?their cities?. The struggle to find jobs was present all over, and African Americans found it even more difficult to support themselves. The narrator faced all these obstacles throughout the course of this novel.

While there are many important messages in the play Ragtime, I believe the most important one is the message about how women were treated unequally when compared to men and how this is still a relevant theme in the world today. While there are major differences to how the female culture was in the 1900s when compared to now, there are still unjust similarities. Throughout the story there are female characters who represent the growth that women at that time were making however, this growth is slow and I believe it is not yet finished even today.

Ragtime always gives people the instant feeling of caper and joyfulness when it is heard anywhere. It reminds us of Chaplin. The Sting sets story in the Great Depression. It tells about two grifters and their group swindling the rich mob boss Lonnegan. The whole film remains a very easy and entertaining atmosphere, well expressed by the rhythmical, brisk and naughty ragtime and delightful jazz. What’s more, the ragtime tracks are mostly played by jazz instruments, and even the sound of whistling, creating a more euphoric and easy mood of the film. In fact, the plot plays a joke on all the audience. We all think the ending of the film would be unsatisfying if we do not realise that it could be a double-con well played by Gondorff’s lot. The

Thomas Jefferson once said, “Every generation needs a new revolution.” Thomas Jefferson indicates that every generation needs a group of motivated people hoping to fix the broken pieces in soceity. E.L Doctorow uses Thomas Jefferson’s imperative thought as an occurring theme in the novel Ragtime. E.L Doctorow does so by using three distinct revolutionaries, each with different qualities; the youngster, Mother’s Younger Brother, the significant anarchist, Emma Goldman, and the infamous menace to society, Coalhouse Walker. Although the revolutionaries of Ragtime, Mother’s Younger Brother, Coalhouse, and Emma Goldman are ultimately killed or deported, they benefit America because they fight for the ideals that America claims to hold.

The 1800’s were an era of unrest in England, which subsequently led thousands of people to emigrate from their impoverished environment to America, seeking opportunity. Immigrant John Downe abandoned his wife, Sukey, along with their children, in hopes of economic prosperity in the newly industrialized country. Downe writes to his wife in an attempt to persuade her to join him in America for an overall better quality of life. Desperate for his family’s company, Downe strives to convince his loving wife to make the journey across the Atlantic.

In 1920s, America undergoes a period of cultural and social revolution. After the shocks by the chaos and violence of WWI, with a burst of economy which brought unprecedented levels of prosperity to the country, the generation turned into a lifestyle of wild and extravagant. Both published in 1925, the time when the jazz age at it’s peak, “The great Gatsby” by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald and “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway depict the fragmentation of the soared society by narrating the experience of characters.

Although the main character, Gideon Jackson, and his contemporaries made good accomplishments throughout the novel, they were not as enforced as the accomplishments from 1964 up to now. Howard Fast did a decent job at portraying the proposal of civil rights and trying to repeat the reconstruction period but, as in the beginning of the novel to the end, Gideon Jackson got his start to owning his share of land and uniting the colored with whites but was still being harassed by the Ku Klux Klan and nothing was being done to prevent it or stop it. Therefore, the African Americans in this fiction novel never really gained freedom that was promised

Howell’s realistic fiction , A New Hazards of misfortunes entails a lot about society within the 1860's. Due to such things as the Civil War and increases in industrialization, the identity of the United States society changed as a whole. African americans migrated to the North for job opportunities and the notion of freedom, since slavery was abolished. Cities like New York were vastly developing, and white Americans were moving there for a faster-paced lifestyle. Through the Marches’ move to New York and their interactions with the people there, Howells is giving specific detail about what most of the white middle-class society were like.

Up until the late 1900’s, the American populace on the whole had assumed a very optimistic view of American history. Glossing over disgraceful events, emphasizing the brighter points in our history, our culture has attempted to ignore the obvious fact that we have had, and still have, our fair share of problems. In Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow unabashedly exposes some of the worst aspects of American life in our more recent history. Doctorow doesn’t hold back anything, providing detailed examples of human cruelty and sacrifice, and the evolution of American society. While critiquing American society was not the sole purpose of his novel, Doctorow does expose and examine many issues that people tended to ignore like the

Bella Cooney August 10th, 2015 Characters of Ragtime Each one of the characters in this book have a completely different personality than the others. E.L. Doctorow portrayed all of these characters really well. What makes this book interesting is that the characters are a mix of actual historical figures, and imagined characters made up by Doctorow. Not many authors could blend both types of characters and get a successful result, but Doctorow pulled it off and created a fantastic book.

Up until the late 1900?s, the American populace on the whole had assumed a very optimistic view of American history. Glossing over disgraceful events, emphasizing the brighter points in our history, our culture has attempted to ignore the obvious fact that we have had, and still have, our fair share of problems. In Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow unabashedly exposes some of the worst aspects of American life in our more recent history. Doctorow doesn?t hold back anything, providing detailed examples of human cruelty and sacrifice, and the evolution of American society. While critiquing American society was not the sole purpose of his novel, Doctorow does expose and examine many issues that people tended to ignore like