Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow Bridget DiGioia
Summary: Ragtime is a historical fiction novel written by E.L. Doctorow. New York Times writes that, “Ragtime depict[s] a nation on the verge of World War I, at the genesis of the celebrity-saturated, ethnically mixed and behaviorally volatile society it has become” and is a “reading about our own past.” The novel begins in 1902 and tells the stories of three different groups of families and their lives. A central story is about a wealthy white family who lives in New Rochelle, New York, and consists of Grandfather, Mother, Father, Mother’s Younger Brother, and an unnamed son. The family’s money comes from the father’s patriotic work in manufacturing flags and fireworks. Father goes to the Artic for an exploration, and his relationship with mother changes while he is gone. Mother eventually rescues a black newborn baby she finds in her backyard, who ends up being the child of Sarah and Coalhouse walker. The novel also tells the immigrant story of Tateh, Mameh, and the Little Girl. Tateh is a peddler and the girls sew. Mameh sleeps with her business’s owner for money and gets disowned by Tateh for doing so. The novel also describes the story of Evelyn Nesbit and her husband, Harry K. Thaw, who is on trial for murdering Standford White, Evelyn’s ex-husband. Jewish Harry Houdini, whose real name is Eric Wiess, performs an escape from the Tombs prison that Thaw is in. Houdini also meets the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie during an airplane flying practice. Freud visits the United States and comments on its mistakes and flaws regarding race, society, and the economy. Evelyn discovers the little girl one day and becomes attached to her, visiting her and Tateh in their home frequently, while Mother’s Younger Brother continues to be infatuated with and follow Evelyn. Tateh Evelyn and the little girl attend a socialist meeting, the speaker, Goldman, calls her out for using her sexuality for status, and Tateh and the little girl leave angrily. Taft becomes president. Evelyn and Mother’s Younger Brother, who now have sex regularly but have nothing to talk about, begin searching for Tateh and the Little Girl. Evelyn divorces Thaw and tries to donate money to good causes. Mother’s Younger Brother ends up building a bomb. Tateh and the Little Girl ride the train together often, and readers see both the Little Girl and little boy age and mature. During this time, the industrial business is booming and we learn about Henry Ford and his creation of the Model T and how J.P. Morgan, one of the wealthiest men in the country, wishes to meet him. The two meet, and after discussing Egypt and pyramids, Morgan invites Ford, who declines, to go with him to Egypt. Coalhouse, trying to meet with Sarah, but who refuses to meet him, visits the family frequently and plays them Ragtime. Sarah eventually speaks with him, accepts his proposal, and they leave with the baby. When driving, Emerald Isle firemen, led by Willie Conklin, stop Coalhouse to pay a toll, he refuses to pay, goes to seek help, his car is vandalized, he is arrested and Father bails him out. Eventually the car’s vandalism is acknowledged and Conklin is driven out of town. Sarah is beat up by a militiaman, catches pneumonia, and dies. Houdini’s mother dies and he works on tricks to raise souls from the dead. Thaw escapes from prison but is again arrested. There is an explosion at the Emerald Isle Firehouse that kills four and injures two and many believe the blame is Coalhouse’s. Father, trying to work on his relationships with people, takes interest in his son and the two go to a baseball game together. The family leaves New Rochelle for Atlantic City to live in peace and there they meet Tateh and the little girl, who becomes friends with the little boy. A group of revolutionaries who call themselves “Coalhouse” arises and Mother’s Younger Brother is accepted by Coalhouse as a follower. They break into Morgan’s library, with the original plan to keep him hostage, however they find out too late that he is not there. Whitman is in charge of ending this siege and calls Booker T. Washington for help. Washington retreats after much miscommunication and negotiations continue to take place. Conklin is forced to repair Coalhouse’s Model-T and then Coalhouse agrees to resign if his followers can go free. Coalhouse is shot, and Mother’s Younger Brother takes his Model-T to travel. World War I is approaching; the Archduke and Countess are assassinated, Father and Mother separate and Father eventually dies upon the Lusitania. Mother and Tateh get married and Morgan, too, dies.
Author Biography: E.L. Doctorow was born on January 6, 1931 in New York City. He was named Edgar Lawrence Doctorow after Edgar Allan Poe. E.L. He graduated from Kenyon College and did graduate work from Columbia. He joined the Army, did work as a literary talent scout for movies, worked as an edit and eventually became a novelist. Doctorow writes novels, poetry, and short stories. Doctorow has won many awards and has been called “one of the most accomplished American novelists of the second half of the 20th Century” (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Many of Doctorow’s work attempts to define America through a political point of view during the time period written about. Doctorow often combines historical people and events with fictional characters and situations in his literary work.
Author Update: E.L. Doctorow is currently 81 years old. His most recent novel is Homer and Langley, which was published in September 2009. In 2000, Doctorow published City of God and in 2005, he published The March. In 2012, he won the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction. Today, his work is published in over 30 languages.
Explanation of use: Doctorow’s novel is going to be used as a supplementary novel in this unit plan. We are going to read passages from Ragtime to make connections to themes and concepts from In the Skin of a Lion. Furthermore, we are going to listen to and watch clips from Broadway’s versions of Ragtime to offer a multimodal education to the class. Many of the underlying themes in this novel such as having a voice and looking for meaning will be used to further investigate similar themes in Ondaatje’s novel.
References:
Doctorow, E. L. Ragtime. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007. Print.
"E.L. Doctorow." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Notable Biographies, n.d. Web.
Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. "Ragtime." New York Times. N.p., 8 July 1975. Web.
Author Biography: E.L. Doctorow was born on January 6, 1931 in New York City. He was named Edgar Lawrence Doctorow after Edgar Allan Poe. E.L. He graduated from Kenyon College and did graduate work from Columbia. He joined the Army, did work as a literary talent scout for movies, worked as an edit and eventually became a novelist. Doctorow writes novels, poetry, and short stories. Doctorow has won many awards and has been called “one of the most accomplished American novelists of the second half of the 20th Century” (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Many of Doctorow’s work attempts to define America through a political point of view during the time period written about. Doctorow often combines historical people and events with fictional characters and situations in his literary work.
Author Update: E.L. Doctorow is currently 81 years old. His most recent novel is Homer and Langley, which was published in September 2009. In 2000, Doctorow published City of God and in 2005, he published The March. In 2012, he won the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction. Today, his work is published in over 30 languages.
Explanation of use: Doctorow’s novel is going to be used as a supplementary novel in this unit plan. We are going to read passages from Ragtime to make connections to themes and concepts from In the Skin of a Lion. Furthermore, we are going to listen to and watch clips from Broadway’s versions of Ragtime to offer a multimodal education to the class. Many of the underlying themes in this novel such as having a voice and looking for meaning will be used to further investigate similar themes in Ondaatje’s novel.
References:
Doctorow, E. L. Ragtime. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007. Print.
"E.L. Doctorow." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Notable Biographies, n.d. Web.
Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. "Ragtime." New York Times. N.p., 8 July 1975. Web.