"Ragtime"

Paper Summary:

Doctorow's historical novel tells the story of a simpler time when families were stronger and defined a large and important part of American Victorian society. The paper discusses how the family in "Ragtime" is made up of misfits and dissidents, just as American society is made up of a wide variety of nationalities, outcasts, dissidents, and family units. The family in Doctorow's novel represents the melting pot of American society, with all its good, evil, and misunderstandings.

From the Paper:

"Doctorow's work is set in 1902 in New Rochelle, New York. The family unit consists of Mother, Father, their little boy, and Mother's Younger Brother (and later the baby of washerwoman Sarah). The novel also follows the immigrant family of Mameh, Tateh, and their little girl. The lives of these two families, outrageous as it would have been at the time, slowly become intertwined, and they each experience some spectacular and dangerous times. The novel opens by introducing the New Rochelle family. It is clear they are well off, and they represent "normal" Victorian society of the day, but at the beginning of the 20th century, lives were in transition all around America, and that is what this family in transition represents. The family lives through some outlandish and quite amazing happenings, which all point to the changing Victorian mores in a society on the brink of war, the roaring 20s, and much more. As the two families become more blended together, Mother and Younger Brother become radicals, while Father goes off to the Arctic with Admiral Peary. Father represents many Americans, who could not come to terms with a changing world, and so, turn their back on it so their own, non-progressive lives will make any sense at all."

More papers on "Ragtime":

• Analytical Essay # 141614 : "America in Doctorow's "Ragtime"
• Analytical Essay # 141612 : "A Look at "Ragtime" by E.L. Doctorow"
• Analytical Essay # 136717 : "Story and Theme of 'Ragtime'"
• Analytical Essay # 32706 : "Ragtime"

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