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Please comment here on Ragtime by E.L.Doctorow, chapters 21 to end.

Here are some discussion questions that I obtained from the litlovers.com website. I do not propose answering all the questions but will comment on some of the points raised below.

1. When the story opens, the narrator describes life in the early 1900s, noting that “There were no negroes. There were no immigrants.� Is this description accurate? What might this statement propose about the accuracy of historical accounts?

2. Why might the author have chosen to name the characters as he did? Why do some of the characters have general names such as Mother’s Younger Brother while others have proper names like Coalhouse Walker, Jr.? Does this affect the way we relate to them?

3. Describe the narrator of the story. Can we be certain of who it is, or does the point of view shift throughout the story? How does Doctorow’s method of narration relate to historical texts?

4. Why did the author choose the title "Ragtime" for this novel? What is ragtime music? What are its origins and how does it relate to other genres of music? What does it reveal about the society in which it was created? What literary devices does the author use to reference or re-interpret ragtime?

5. Why might the author have chosen not to use quotation marks? Does this affect the rhythm of the story?

6. Describe the setting of Ragtime. When and where does the story take place? Why might an author have chosen to write about this time period and these places and events?

7. When was Ragtime written? What was happening at the time? How might readers then have related to the story? How do we relate to it today? Is it simply a historical narrative or does it reveal things about contemporary society?

8. Why do you think that Mother’s Younger Brother chose to help Coalhouse Walker, Jr.?

9. Doctorow chooses to incorporate historical figures in a fictional context. Who does he include? Why might he have chosen to include these people? Does his portrayal of them match historical accounts?

10. The story takes place during a time of technological progress and industrialization. What are some of the innovations represented in the book? How does their presence affect the characters? Is the impact good or bad? Explain.

11. The quest for freedom and peace is a key theme of Ragtime. How does the author use Harry Houdini to illuminate the complexity of this quest?

12. While the characters represent different classes and races, they share much in common. Discuss some of these commonalities. How are the characters different?

13. What imagery does the author use in the first chapter to set the scene? What does it tell us about life in the early 1900s? What might the purpose be in revealing the murder of the architect Stanford White? Does it change our initial impression of American life during this time?

14. When Evelyn Nesbit meets The Little Girl in the Pinafore, she is tied with rope to her father’s wrist so she won’t be stolen. How does the author make connections between Evelyn, The Little Girl, and Mameh? Why is Evelyn drawn to Tateh and The Little Girl?

15. When Father returns to New Rochelle, the mirror “gave back the gaunt, bearded face of a derelict, a man who lacked a home.� What does this mean? What has changed since Father left home? How does he adapt to these changes?

16. Why might J.P. Morgan be so fascinated with Egyptology? Do his fortune and his collection of valuable objects bring him peace? Why do you think he invites Henry Ford to meet with him?

17. The notion of value is prominent in the book. What do each of the characters value? What consequences does this have for them?

I finished this last night. It was certainly well written, but I am not sure what Doctorow was getting at. Here is my review.

Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
/review/show...

This is one of those books that I leave a bit baffled. We have the story of two N.Y. families in the first decade or so of the 20th century, one wealthy with long roots in the City, the other poor Jewish immigrants newly arrived. Weaving in and out and alongside of these families is a host of famous people from Harry Houdini to Emma Goldman. While the members of these families are never named, identified only by relational titles, the famous and fictional people that brush by them are known by their names. At the heart of this novel’s plot is an act of racial cruelty. But this seems to be as much about racial tension as it is about who makes and interpretes history, about the clay feet and odd behaviors of those we claim to admire, whether close up or at a distance, about �. Well, that is what has me baffled. I could easily follow the story line of this novel, but I am not sure what Doctorow was trying to get at.

Yes, it's an odd novel. John Brooks, book reviewer for the Chicago Tribune in 1975 states "Ragtime" is not social history disguised as a novel; rather it is the novel as social history, an imaginative flight based on the facts of the past but released rather than confined by them, as ragtime's music's muted madness is heightened by the limits of its rigid form."

Brooks also states:
"It is a fable that serves as an excuse for a great deal of social observation, and for the introduction of numerous real historical people, each of whom Doctorow (best known previously for "The Book of Daniel") freely and happily gives his own utterly unhistorical twists."

"The belief that a form of light, unique and recapturable, pervades a certain place in a certain time and no other, is characteristic of "Ragtime." It is not by chance that the figure of Houdini keeps recurring. What Doctorow is after is magic; the particular magic he sees, like Joplin's music, is a form of escape.

Joplin said � and Doctorow quotes as his epigraph � "Do not play this piece fast. It is never right to play Ragtime fast. It would not be right to read "Ragtime" fast."

Doctorow has thrown together a variety of characters, providing contrasts of a society grappling with modernisation, the rich versus the poor. Morgan, USA's wealthiest man struggles to understand Ford's assembly line innovation. Then we have Tateh, a Jewish immigrant who is bringing up a daughter and trying to find his place in USA's capitalist society. Houdini the great escape artist who isn't satisfied with his lot - he hasn't done anything to change the world.
Then there's the plot momentum of the second half of the novel with the racism plight of Coalhouse Walker Jr.

Ragtime discusses issues that are relevant today. It's the story of three families–a middle/upper class family, a Jewish immigrant family, and an African-American couple are trying to cope in a changing society, technological innovation and industrialisation, faced with civil rights struggles, injustice, and social unrest.

Thanks for that exerp from the 1975 review. I am not sure it clarifies much for me, but I also know that I have not really pondered the book. I can recognize ragtime music, but I don't know nothing about what defines it. I did not know it had a ridget structure.

I am wondering about the way characters are named. At first I thought that only the famous people would get names, some commentary on who gets memorialized by society verses those known intimately because we are in relationship with them. But Coalhouse and Sarah are named and they are not famous people. So that blew that theory out of the water.

I keep seeing comments that magic and freedom are central themes of this novel embodied in Houdini. Houdini, the great escape artist and magician, Tatah who creates illusions with his silhoettes, but I am not sure how that unlocks the rest of the story line. There is no magic for Coalhouse and no true freedom.

I also wonder why include the famous characters that were included. Why, for example, have father join Perry in the North Pole exploration. It felt rather far fetched as a plot line. If the author wanted the family to grow apart from father, he could have removed him in a more mundain manner, a simple business trip to Europe or across the country. And, why have brother fighting in Mexico at the end. Again, it felt as if it took the story in a more out landish coda than needed.

Yes as I was reading the novel I wondered why Docotorow chose certain historical events. However on reflection I can better understand how he has tried to incorporate what he views as significant themes of the Ragtime period.

The father joining Perry on the North Pole expedition highlights the times when people were interested in 'science' and those rich enough were able to participate in explorations. Morgan illegally brings back artifacts from Egypt.

The Mexican Revolution began in 1910. War is declared on the Diaz regime. Madero promises Democracy, federalism, agrarian reform and worker's rights. By 1911 Madero is elected president, but conflict and violence continue for the better part of the next decade.

Overall, I think the novel fairly effectively gives me a better idea of the ragtime period. An engaging interesting reading experience, but the imbalance (sic) of all the varying events that go on left me feeling that the novel is a very good read but not a five star read.

I agree, good read, but I am not sure I would have put it on the list of the best 100 books of the century. But, then, I am still not sure I am fully understanding it.