Free Essays on Ragtime

In the classic E.L. Doctorow novel, Ragtime, we see the juxtaposition of many motifs to represent Doctorow’s view of the early century. By combining history and fiction Doctorow allows himself to write a semi-accurate interpretation of the early 1900’s while also being able to strongly express his own biases and opinions of the era. The biggest and perhaps most important theme Doctorow applies in the novel is social tension, or the battle of the rich versus the poor. Other important themes include rebirth, racial tension, and high randomness of events. It is apparent that Doctorow clearly favors the poor, lower class, in their struggle for economic and social mobility against the few, rich, and upper class citizens. Doctorow’s thoughts are best depicted through the novel’s characters. Tateh, Coalhouse Walker and Sarah are all characters who are portrayed as ‘good’. These characters, while representing a wide range of economic success, all symbolize socially challenged individuals. Throughout the novel, Doctorow always chooses these or similar types of characters to be the protagonists. Doctorow wants the reader to feel for Coalhouse’s situation. He wants the reader to hope that Willie Conklin is harmed and the Model T Ford is repaired. On the other hand, Doctorow tells a different tale for the economic elite, upper echelon of society, represented by J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford. Morgan is presented as a snobbish old man, who always gets his way, and we are supposed to feel no remorse for him when his museum is broken int!o. We, the readers, are inclined to agree with Doctorow’s opinion only because that is the way he planned it. Doctorow did not touch on any negative aspects of Coalhouse Walker’s actions, such as innocent firemen that he killed, and their families, perhaps, because this might sway the reader’s belief as to Coalhouse’s innocence. The concept of rebirth is used liberally by Doctorow. ... Free Essays on Ragtime Free Essays on Ragtime In the classic E.L. Doctorow novel, Ragtime, we see the juxtaposition of many motifs to represent Doctorow’s view of the early century. By combining history and fiction Doctorow allows himself to write a semi-accurate interpretation of the early 1900’s while also being able to strongly express his own biases and opinions of the era. The biggest and perhaps most important theme Doctorow applies in the novel is social tension, or the battle of the rich versus the poor. Other important themes include rebirth, racial tension, and high randomness of events. It is apparent that Doctorow clearly favors the poor, lower class, in their struggle for economic and social mobility against the few, rich, and upper class citizens. Doctorow’s thoughts are best depicted through the novel’s characters. Tateh, Coalhouse Walker and Sarah are all characters who are portrayed as ‘good’. These characters, while representing a wide range of economic success, all symbolize socially challenged individuals. Throughout the novel, Doctorow always chooses these or similar types of characters to be the protagonists. Doctorow wants the reader to feel for Coalhouse’s situation. He wants the reader to hope that Willie Conklin is harmed and the Model T Ford is repaired. On the other hand, Doctorow tells a different tale for the economic elite, upper echelon of society, represented by J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford. Morgan is presented as a snobbish old man, who always gets his way, and we are supposed to feel no remorse for him when his museum is broken int!o. We, the readers, are inclined to agree with Doctorow’s opinion only because that is the way he planned it. Doctorow did not touch on any negative aspects of Coalhouse Walker’s actions, such as innocent firemen that he killed, and their families, perhaps, because this might sway the reader’s belief as to Coalhouse’s innocence. The concept of rebirth is used liberally by Doctorow. ... Free Essays on Ragtime The novel takes place in New Rochelle in the 1900’s. During this time period a lot of changes were going on. Some of the changes were the women’s rights movement, race relations, and family roles. The main thing that caught my attention was the race relations between the whites and blacks. Through the novel they show how violence isn’t the way to settle issues like racism. The main character who showed violence trying to gain rights and equality was Coalhouse Walker. Coalhouse Walker was a black musician who challenged the racial issues in the society of New Rochelle. He was an important symbol in the book. His character provides insight of race relations during the turn of the century. He represents all African Americans who challenged the expectations many whites have of them. His character was formed with great pride like a typical African American had at that time period. They all wanted respect and equal rights. One scene shows how blacks were mistreated. Coalhouse was stopped for no reason and was being forced to pay an amount of money to the fire chief, Will Conklin. Coalhouse refused and went to find someone to help him. When he found a police officer to help, all he responded was with: â€Å" Those boys don’t mean no harm, he finally said. I know them all. Go on back now, They’re probably tired of the sport. Walker may have realized this was probably the maximum support he could expect from a policeman.† During that time period of history a black mans plead didn’t mean much to a police officer. â€Å"With eight people dead by Coalhouse’s hand, horses destroyed and buildings demolished, with suburban town still reverberating in its terror, his arrogance know no bounds.† Through out the novel Coalhouse Walker was looking to be heard by the people. His statements weren’t affecting anyone, so he started committing angry actions and resorted to violence to resolve his feelings toward society...