...Assignment 3 – Ragtime Introduction The novel Ragtime takes place in America in the early 1900's. It illustrates several life stories and destinies all woven together in different ways. Most of the characters in the novel are pure fictitious but some historical men and women from the era are featured. We get to met Houdini, the biggest illusionists of his time, JP Morgan, one of the wealthiest men in America, Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company and Emma Goldman, an anarchist and political activist. One of the main characters, and the main focus of this analysis is the Latvian, Jewish immigrant referred to as Tateh. We follow Tateh and his daughter Sha's progression through the different stages of becoming assimilated in the American melting pot that is the American culture. Main Body Tateh and his family arrived to America in the beginning of the nineteenth century. This was a time in history when immigrants, mostly europeans were flowing into New York. Between 1901 and 1910 as many as 8.8 million people arrived from overseas (Duncan and Goddard, 2009:66) all stepping of the boat filled with dreams and hopes of a better life in “the land of opportunity”. The reality in New York was different. The streets were dirty, crime was increasing along with the growing population and assimilation was not easy. “The officials changed names they couldn't pronounce and tore people from their families... “They were despised by New Yorkers. They were filthy...
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...this quote are Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and Ragtime by E.L Doctorow. Of Mice and Men is a book full of struggles. It starts out with two main characters, George and Lenny. Lenny is mentally challenged making it hard for both of them to find and maintain jobs. The setting plays a huge role in the novel. It takes place in California during the 1930’s. This is when the infamous Dust Bowl was going on. There was a seven year drought, and the once fertile land became desert like. So many migrant farmers traveled around to find jobs. Lenny keeps making mistakes with woman, unintentionally, while George is just trying to make ends meet. They constantly have the American dream in mind wishing to save money and buy their own farm. Ultimately George must make a huge sacrifice and kill Lenny, since he was bound to die eventually anyway. Even though both characters struggled mightily, Lenny died peacefully, and George could finally maintain a job. So after all He’s been through George finally found his figurative light at at the end of the tunnel. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow is another book that clearly relates to the quote. Tateh is a character that highlights finding the figurative “Light at the end of the tunnel.” He starts off as a poor immigrant coming to America in high hopes to achieve the American Dream. Which is ironic since many whom immigrated lived in poverty. Throughout the novel, everything went downhill for Tateh. He lived in poverty, his wife cheated on him, and he...
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...we have found in the family dynamics of Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow. As the various characters enter into different seasons in their lives a noticeable change takes place. Not only did the change affect them, but it also affected those in their family units. Society sees marriage as a permanent commitment therefore marriages are expected to endure change. But in the Ragtime families, that was not the case; all characters went through transformation in their own time and or season, which constituted a breakthrough. Ragtime, by Doctorow is a novel that is being told from the point of view of the Little Boy. It blends history with fiction its plots intertwine several families from different walks of life, upper class, middle class, lower class immigrant life, blacks, revolutionaries, and crimes. The first set characters in the story are an upper class family that consisted of a father, mother, and a little boy. They had an extended family that consisted of Mother’s Younger Brother and Mother’s Father aka Grandfather. The family lived in New Rochelle, New York in an upper class neighborhood where Father owned his own business “manufacturing flags, and buntings and other accoutrements of patriotism. Brother worked there designing fireworks and had also become an expert at making bombs” (Doctorow 3-4). The next group of characters was a lower class family of immigrants that arrived in New York from Italy they consisted of Tateh, Mameh, and a little girl. This family...
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...A conflict can be defined as a state of opposition between two forces and is central to the human experience. There are a countless amount of factors which can cause a conflict between individuals, established groups, or within one’s self. The way conflicts are dealt with, can cause a person to better themselves by producing strength and skills or can destroy one’s spirit and cause a great amount of agony. Within “Ragtime” by E.L. Doctorow, Mother is confronted with several key conflicts which include her relationship with Father, her struggle to find personal meaning in society and also her emotional, physical and intellectual change. Sexual activity is a major theme and conflict in “Ragtime” and although many characters are changed and affected by sexual activity, the relationship between Mother and Father is most defined by it and creates a conflict for Mother. After reading “Ragtime”, one can see that sex and sexual desires are the foundations of the relationship between Mother and Father. At the beginning of the novel, Doctorow writes, “On Sunday afternoon, after dinner, Father and Mother went upstairs and closed the bedroom door” (page 4). This is the first reference of sexual activity and right away, one can get the impression that they have a very physical relationship. While reading the novel, it is understood that as long as their relationship was physical and full of sexual activity, their marriage was happy and easy going. In the beginning of the novel, their relationship...
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