Thursday, March 4, 2010
Ragtime by E. L. Docotorow-TW M/Th P.3 and P.4
This forum is for specific discussion on Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow. What are your first reactions? What did you like most about the story and/or the book? Also what question(s) do you have about the book? Students should try their best to answer each other’s questions. See Blog Assignment for additional information!
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The book Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow is one of the best books I have ever read. My initial reaction to this book was “Eww here we go again”. But, after reading the first chapter I was automatically hooked! This book is so captivating and inspires its readers to look past the norm and expose themselves to different views and personalities. I really enjoyed this book because of the craft and skill that Mr. Doctorow put into his novel. He was able to create a book that was universal for anyone; no matter what ethnicity, gender, or class status you are. I also liked how every character was tied into one another. Each character has his unique personality and story that ties into another character’s life. What I also found interesting was how the first couple of pages made America seem picture perfect and then the last couple of pages sum up the lives of the characters; most of which are not happily ever after endings. It was also cool how each character’s story was so different. The fact that Mr. Doctorow was able to use real life people from American history and tie that all into a fictional novel blows my mind! I just can not seem to wrap my mind around the creativity and thought that was put into this book. I guess the actual reality of the book is what really intrigues me. As I was reading I was able to play out every scene, because for me it was like watching a movie. I mean all of the emotions that were in the novel were so real and the imagery that was used was out of this world! I guess the only real question I have is, what do the colors for each country in the slums symbolize (pg.17). Ragtime is an excellent novel that I would recommend to anyone.
The novel, Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, is a well-written and intriguing book. When I first started reading the novel, I was very confused. The novel’s switching between characters and plots was difficult to follow. In the end, I realized that this was my favorite part of the book. All of these characters were experiencing various situations, somehow, connecting to each other. The style of writing creates a vivid image in the reader’s mind, which captures the interest of the reader even more.
An element of controversy that stood out to me was religion and culture. Specifically when Evelyn Nesbit posed as a Jewish women living in the slums. Tateh was very offended and hurt when he found her out. This portrayed his dedication toward his culture and religion. He would not accept someone pretending to believe in what he believed. The discovery of Evelyn Nesbit’s secret created an immense amount of tension during this part of the story.
There are many secrets in the novel. Maybe the author is trying to say that there are numerous hidden dangers in humanity, which relates the real world to class subjects. The author portrays different secrets in many ways throughout the plot. This includes Evelyn Nesbit’s Jewish identity, the mysteries of Harry Houdini, and the infant found buried alive in a back lawn. Secrets are everywhere and the author does a great job in showing this.
There are many secrets throughout the world. We may know them and we may not know them. Parts of the novel encourage the reader to discover or acknowledge the mysteries, secrets, and hidden dangers in our world today. One question might be, “Does the author portray secrets in a way that they should be revealed or in a way that they should be unnoticed?”
The novel, Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, is a very fascinating book. Although I have not finished, it has me full of anticipation of the future events that are yet to occur. When first starting to read, the mixture of plots and characters can be hard to keep up with, but when you are far enough in the story to comprehend what’s going on it becomes an instant attention grabber. You really have to marvel at the genius of how the author was able to intertwine the stories and still have them relate and connect to each other. I also really enjoy how the author combines real-life historical figures with fictional events. Harry Houdini, Sigmund Freud, Emma Goldman, Henry Ford, and Booker T. Washington were very familiar names for me and sparked my intention whenever I read them. It also puts ideas in your head about the type of personalities that they may have had if you were in there presence. A few themes in the story were pretty evident to me. One was the struggle with tolerating change. E.L. Doctorow shows this with the characters reactions. While some characters accept change, others withdraw from it and this is especially evident with Mother and Father as he comes back from his expedition. He feels alienated from his family and the new century, while Mother prospers in his absence. The increase in responsibility with the family business helps her notice her true potential. I believe it was the theme of tolerating change that helped mold the characters as the story progressed. I do have one question. Were there any specific protagonists or antagonists in the story? Maybe I will find out at the end, but any help is appreciated. All in all, the novel is very enjoyable.
Ragtime, written by E.L. Doctorow, is an excellent novel, combining many different stories of the 1900s. Ragtime seems to capture the different aspects of life, in different parts of the world, during the 1900s. It showed the poor lifestyle of a father and his lovely daughter, in the dumps of New York; the rich lifestyle, through a failed marriage between Evelyn Nesbit and her mental husband; and the normal middle class family, with a traveling husband, and their ups and downs along the way. At times, the stories became confusing, but once you understood which story you were reading about, they were magnificent. I also like the use of intense vocabulary; it added some spice to the sentences in each chapter. Another thing I loved about Ragtime was how Doctorow mixed history and knowledge into each story as they tied together one by one. Based on the words and situations presented, you could differentiate the time period and the way things worked back then. For example, “The Negroe girl and her baby had carried into the house a sense of misfortune…these wash women came up the hill from the trolley.” The use of “Negroe girl,” “washwomen,” and “trolley,” gives you an idea of the time period the book is trying to convey, and how discrimination was still a fixed reality. Another is the situation with Evelyn Nesbit and her husband: the way her husband abused her and got away with it conveys sexism, however the way she could call for a divorce so easily, is noted and taken into account. All the stories show a hint of what it was like in the 1900s for different people in many places, with different problems. One thing I did not understand is why Doctorow decided not to use quotations? I truly did not see the point in not using quotations, it made the reading confusing. Also, I did not like the use third party naming when referring to characters, such as “Mothers Younger Brother.” I do not recall reading a book written in total third person, as if the author was watching everything from a distance. Other than that, I find Ragtime to be very delightful book, so far, and I can not wait to finish it.
I greatly enjoy the book Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, it has been a captivating read. I like Doctorow’s application of history and usage of the lives and stories of real people in the book. He would take the information he knew about their existences, and he would depict them in a fictional story line. He told the story of real events and the lives of Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White, and Harry K. Thaw as they would interact and intertwine with the lives of other characters, both fictional and non-fictional. I found this technique to be a very effective way of portraying life in America during the turn of the 20th century, all while keeping the novel appealing to me. It was truly a joy to find well known figures such as Harry Houdini, Sigmund Freud, Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, and others make an appearance during the novel. What I like most about the novel is how Doctorow would tell the story in a way that made me care about these characters, whether they were based on real people or not. The book really gives a feel for the lifestyles and day to day happenings of people found all over the nation, from the upper crust to the most impoverished immigrants. Doctorow would make social and political statements that reflected the populace during this time period. Along with this, the views and opinions of Doctorow, himself, could also be seen shining through during in the book, which keeps Ragtime an interesting read.
In Ragtime ,by E.L. Doctorow, Evelyn Nesbit becomes obsessed with a little girl and her Father, Tateh. All the while, her husband (Harry K. Thaw) is on trial for the murder of Stanford White. When Evelyn first meets this girl, she is amazed by her beauty. But she keeps learning more about the way she lives, and finds beauty in other things too, like the simplicities of everyday life in the slum, and the complexities she never expected that a street silhouette artist could have. As she becomes closer with the pair, she becomes more attached and spends more time with them, and allegations come out that she has been doing bad things in the time she is not seen in public. She even accompanies Tateh and his daughter to the Artists’ Union, where she learns about rebel movements she never even knew existed. But when she is pointed out for the celebrity she is, she scares away Tateh, and he heads for another place, as far away as possible. At the Artists’ Union meeting, Emma Goldman pulls her aside and takes her to a room. There, she tells her of all the wrongs she has done, and tells her how she should live her life. And, as if she has had an epiphany Evelyn begins to live her life as the anarchist Emma Goldman would (kind of). And the story continues… I have a couple questions about the plot. First, is Tateh running away just because he didn’t know who Evelyn was, and it was such as surprise? Secondly I was wondering if I am correct in the assumption that Evelyn Nesbit has an affair with Stanford White, and her husband at the time, Harry K. Thaw shoots White, and that is why he is being prosecuted.
Ragtime is an awesome piece of literature! Like the music genre the novel is named after, this novel combines so many elements of American life and creates a whole new entity; the identity of America. As the reader, we get to experience how each of the very separate groups of people finally interact and mesh and, eventually, meld into our beautiful, diverse country.
One of the components that stood out to me the most in the novel was how Doctorow explored the motives of each group of people. Each character stood as a representative to a class or race or gender. Tateh seems to represent the average immigrant who finally becomes successful after struggling in his new home. Mother seems to symbolize the change women of her time experienced as women’s rights began to become an issue. We, as the reader, are familiar with each group of people the characters represent, but by giving them a specific story for us to follow, Doctorow takes us into their lives so we can fully understand why they acted as they acted. It’s like, by studying the individual, we understand how the masses act.
This way of exploring a single person to expose how an entire generation of people felt or acted, I think, is brilliant! Rather than study about a group of people, it’s much more fascinating (and more relevant) to study the individual that creates the group.
I would definitely read Ragtime again and tell anyone I know to read it, because there is a character for everyone. Most people could find a character to identify with, which is one of the things I love most about the novel.
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow is a very captivating read. For one thing, the book delves into the lives of a nameless family living in New York during the early 1900s, and their adventures which involve questions of right, life, and what it means to be American. It also looks into the immigration and naturalization of immigrants, and the change of ideas and beliefs coming about the early 1900s with the clash of newer and old immigrant families and their relationship. While this is in no way the only plotline throughout the book, the book primarily focuses on that one though. To be honest, when I first started, I found the whole mixture of ideas and plots kind of complicated, but as I went on they all seemed to un raveled for me and it became easier to understand and think about. In fact, now that I have read a good portion, this unique mixture is one of my favorite things about the book, it allows the reader to not only get a feel for the character’s ideas on the main themes and plotlines, but also their day-to-day lives and reactions that come from more mundane things, such as Houdini’s visit, which come back later on in the story. As for questions about the book, I was wondering about the apparent lack of a definite protagonist, or antagonist for that matter, and was wondering whether that was purposeful? Maybe there is one by the end- I haven’t finished, though I am defiantly looking forward to reading the rest, as I want to find out what happens to the characters. What Doctorow has written in Ragtime is a really strong book that manages to leave you with questions throughout, and while it gives you a lot to think about, it also gives you a plotline that keeps you drawn in and wondering what’s next all the time, a combination that is rarely achieved by any book.
As I began to read Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow, two things stood out. The first was the lack of quotation marks. In the book, speech is part of the paragraph, not separated by punctuation. The second thing I noticed was the frequent changing of perspectives in the story. The differences between the characters portrayed are stark, but all the stories are told well, and ultimately intertwine.
I wondered what the author was trying to suggest with each of these techniques. The goal of the book, in my opinion, is to give a picture of the attitude of America at the beginning of the twentieth century. Omitting quotation marks makes the writing flow continuously. The story is in constant motion, and I think this movement relates to the feeling Doctorow was trying to convey. The time period discussed was an age of movement: movies, cars, and airplanes, all described in the book, became popular. These new technologies contributed to a sense of hurtling towards the future. The lack of quotation marks in the book gives it the same feeling, and the reader cannot help being swept along the current of movement and change.
The various, converging storylines told also help represent the feeling of the time period. In addition to being an age of motion, the time period described was an age of contrasts. There are obvious contrasts between the characters in the story: some are rich, others are poor; some are real, others are fictional; some are ordinary, others are famous or eccentric. The sharp distinctions between the characters points to an important theme of the time period and the book, but the relationships between greatly differing characters point to a deeper one. In the book, a rich, beautiful woman grows close with a poor, Socialist immigrant and his daughter. The same immigrant later marries a middle class woman and settles down. The same rich and beautiful woman befriends anarchist Emma Goldman. The characters are different, but all of their paths cross. This feature of the book represents the feeling of the country at the time. Although it was a country divided by contrasts, it was also a country united by relationships between people.
The novel, Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, is one of the most creatively written books I have read in a long time. Initially I was disappointed I was going to have to read another book for school but then I started reading it and was fascinated by it. The character depth surprised me. I like how the author was able to describe the characters in such detail without even mentioning their names. But one of the things I liked most about the book was the section where Evelyn Nesbit starts sneaking away from the media to see Tateh and the little girl or how Pierpont Morgan feels alone at top of the world, so to speak, because it shows that everyone no matter how famous or powerful wants actual friends or wants to be thought of as a person. The fact that the author was able to convey the character Tateh’s devotion to his daughter that he would let her leave and live with another family is astounding because in the book it didn’t take him long to decide but it still expressed the gravity of the situation. I think that that is my favorite part of the book because he had to make a tough choice for his daughter’s own good. I do have a few questions. My first is, “how did Pierpont Morgan get the sarcophagus without people knowing?” and “What did the silhouettes that Tateh made look like?” I think this is a great book mostly because two of the main environments described in the book are complete opposites of each other to show that where someone comes from influences the world they live in.
The novel Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow is a type of book that I am not use to reading. Although I am not use to reading this type of novel, it has caught my attention in different ways. I am not a hundred percent sure that I am comprehending the basis of the novel, but I have discovered that there are a lot of secrets that are in the events of this novel. For example, Evelyn Nesbit posed as a Jewish women living in the slums was a lie that was told to Tateh and his daughter. She kept this secret away from them and away from the people that was in her original life.
E.L. Doctorow uses descriptive language throughout the novel that helps the reader get clear and concise understanding of the theme of Ragtime.
I do agree with Gloria that this book was created for all people. When Gloria said that each character's story was tied into each other's life, I began to think about real life, situations. Two people that have different situations can be involved in each others life. One person can be more fortunate then the other and try to help the person rebuild their life. So because you are more fortunate than that person, you are tied in each others life by their individual story. This situation shows that no matter how different we are, we some how are connected. I have yet to finish the book, but Ragtime gives the reader examples of real life situations that they can connect to. I will recommend Ragtime as a must read for any audience.
Although I am only about halfway through E.L Doctorow’s novel Ragtime, I can already tell that it is going to be a lot different than any other book I’ve read. It’s different technically, as it doesn’t use quotations when people are speaking. This can be a little confusing, as you have to look a little harder to discern who is speaking. It’s also different because the book flows in a way others don’t. Instead of having rigidly set storylines, each running parallel until the end, Ragtime’s storylines all sort of blend together. All the characters relate to each other, and ultimately to you. My favorite characters are Mother, Harry Houdini, and Evelyn Nesbit. I like the way E.L. Doctorow shows Mother and Father’s relationship. Their relationship embodies the phrase ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’. Every time Father comes back from his adventures, their relationship is revived. I liked how mysterious Harry Houdini was. Even though E.L. Doctorow made him seem real by creating him as a character and sharing his thoughts, we weren’t told the secrets to his success. I liked this, because sometimes you would rather be kept guessing. Evelyn Nesbit was another intriguing character. She becomes obsessed with this little Jewish girl, and at one point she even considers stealing him from her father, Tateh! Ragtime is a really amazing book, and I can’t wait to finish it!
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow is one of the most outstanding books I have ever read, and I mean this literally because every element of this work comes out to surprise the reader. The punctuation, or more specifically the lack of it, struck me as unique from page one; Doctorow’s style, though undoubtedly frowned upon by the puritans of the English language, is just as expressive as the grammatical structures that have been deemed correct.
The flow of the plot seemed choppy and confusing at first, but once I had immersed myself in the book I found that these chopped up ideas were really just small currents of water that formed one lively and fluid river. As the story progresses, the main characters are built and described not only through a well worded paragraph or two, but by strong and decisive flashbacks which finish and fortify each character’s personality. Plot twists rattle the story completely, effectively tearing down characters when it is least expected and successfully leaving the reader in wonder.
The aspect of Ragtime that I admire most is its complete unpredictability. At any given time, a new spurt of idea might divert the river of thought. Besides this, the story was so engrossing that I never stopped to think; I just let the river carry me.
I enjoyed Ragtime immensely, but like any good book it left me with questions. For example, why does Tateh speak Yiddish when asked about his daughter (p. 42), bearing in mind that his words were being translated anyways?
I conclude that Ragtime is definitely a novel that sticks to hands and eyes, one that cannot be set down until it has been finished.
The Novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow is very well written. This book is filled with three different families explaining each lifestyle. There is a middle class family, a poor father and daughter, and a marriage between Evelyn Nesbit and her husband that is mental. When I began reading this book I was a little hesitant because of the vocabulary. It was also somewhat confusing with the different families, however once I kept reading it began to be clearer on how each of the families tied together. I really enjoyed how E. L. Doctorow wrote in that old English, it helped me understand the time period, as well as how people from the early 1900’s would have sounded. I am not finished with the book yet, however it is a very delightful read because it is not a boring book. Every time I finish a chapter it ends making you want to read more, to me that is great because not many books that I have read were able to pull that off. Overall this book is moving along well, and is very intriguing I cannot wait to finish it.
The novel Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow is a very complex story thus far. I have found it hard to keep up with the narrative. What I have I also found difficult is differentiating between the characters, because the author switches between their stories so often and so fluidly. I have found that the further into the story that I read and the more I learn about each character it has become easier for me to tell the difference between each character.
While reading the story I have developed a favorite character, Evelyn Nesbit. I enjoy reading about her adventures in this novel the most. So far I feel that the author has allowed the reader into her life and emotions the farthest. I really like that she has fallen in love with a Jewish father and his young daughter who live in the slums. As I read my heart was warmed as her secret life as a slum wife was described. She found herself to be genuinely worried about the family. After taking care of the young girl when she was sick she whole-heartedly threw herself into their lives.
The character that I understand the least is the mother’s brother. It seems that he has some mental disorder but because of the time that he is living in he is just deemed eccentric. He is clearly not dumb because he creates fireworks. He does seem to be antisocial, because he doesn’t really interact with the family; also when he stalks Evelyn he never actually talks to her.
I am looking forward to completing this novel and uncovering the rest of the mysteries that it has to offer.
As I started reading Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, I thought this was an intriguing story that was, at times, somewhat confusing. I love Doctorow’s point of view and how he constantly switches between the characters, intertwining their stories in some ways. Since I have yet to finish the book, I have so many questions about each of the characters and Doctorow’s purpose for the novel. I am waiting for the plot to thicken in order to get the answers! For example, how will Evelyn’s story relate to Father’s voyage to the North Pole. Why is Father voyaging to the North Pole anyway??? Also, does Mother’s responsibility for the black girl and her newborn baby bring up a theme of the lives of blacks in the early 20th century? I am looking forward to finishing this story. I have a feeling it will be one of the best novels I’ve read all school year.
E. L Doctorow's Ragtime is a brilliantly written book. It is witty, clever, and shows the beauty and soul of ragtime music. Ragtime, the rich barelyt acknowledged the poor and they ignored boats full of immigrants while the poor struggled in miserable housing conditions. The book is written in long flowing paragraphs with minimal dialogue. It is vital to read the paragraphs carefully because there's emotional development, and surprises are at every page. When I first started reading, I didn't want to put it down. The plot was slightly difficult to follow at first, but I eventually understood it. E.L Doctorow is a fabulous author, and I plan to read his other works.
Ragtime is an astounding book that kept me on the edge of my seat. The plot was really intriguing although confusing at times. In the beginning, I couldn’t put the book down for the simple reason that I was confused and hoped to understand the book by reading ahead. As I was about halfway through the book I realized how profound the story was. I loved how the lives of all the characters came together. One of my favorite parts was when Evelyn Nesbit dressed down to go to the slums to visit the young girl she had become enamored with. It was saddening as Tateh and the little girl (his daughter) later walked out on Evelyn after Emma Goldman, the revolutionary, made her scandalous identity clear. Another part I enjoyed reading was Coalhouse Walker, Jr.’s courtship of Sarah, the younger mother of his illegitimate child. He is extremely proud and polite and the reader would never suspect the chaos Coalhouse later causes as he insists on a point of justice. I started to understand the story a great deal more when Mother and Father moved to Atlantic City temporarily for privacy and safety. At their hotel they ran into a foreign man, a baron, and his beautiful daughter whom they became acquainted with. It was at this point I had an “aha” moment, that I found out Baron Ashkenazy was Tateh. Doctorow did I great job of tying up the story as the reader became aware of how the characters lives had been entwined all along.
The novel, Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, is well written and interesting book. My first impression of this book was “Oh goodness, another boring novel”. Once I began to read the first couple pages, I realized that it was not so boring. The first couple pages were an attention grabber. It actually encouraged me to keep reading. However, throughout the book, I would get confused and how to re-read certain parts of the book. This novel was completely different than ones I read before. The descriptions used by, E. L. Doctorow, were very detailed and helpful. They allowed me to visual what was actually going on in the story. Each character had very distinguishing characteristics. The imagery that he used was definitely caught my attention, by far. Another thing I like that E.L. Doctorow did was used mixed history and knowledge but was about to bring everything together so that it was easier to understand. In the beginning, he depicted to American lifestyle as picture perfect. Towards the end, he began to describe the unhappy endings. I usually would read nonfiction books, but this is one fiction novel that I would not mind reading more than once. I would recommend this novel to anyone.
The book Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow is a very interesting book. As I first began to read the book, I couldnt keep track of all of the occurences in the book. Then as i read on they all began to tie together, so the book was easier to read. The book shows ifferent personilities and dfifernt lifetyles during this time. The way the book was written really drew me further the book. The book was relatable to most people. In the beginning it thought that it ws just a series of stories put together. But as you read on you can see how the different lifestyles and types of people relate and efect each other at some point. E.L. Doctorow uses people of real life to shoe and portray the different personalities back then. He uses great details and scences to make people picture the things that were actually happening. Overall a great book.
When I first started reading Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, I was not very excited to have to read a book that was not one of my choice. I usually do not enjoy books if I am told to read them. In this case though, I was very intrigued, even from the first page of the book. It started off confusing, looking at many different people’s lives. Once the book starts coming together, you realize what a fun and creative book it is. The way Doctorow writes about icons and significant people from the past, and uses them as characters to create a fictional story, is very imaginative and brilliant. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of commas and quotation marks, making it slightly harder to read at first. Of course, Doctorow has an artistic license to write how he would like, but do you think he does this for a stylistic reason to affect how we read the novel? I would be interested to look at another one of his books and see if the same kind of punctuating and dialogue is used or if it was specifically for Ragtime. One of the great appeals of this book is the great variety of characters, who are very different in their own respects, at least one of which almost any reader could identify with. Who was your favorite character? I am not finished with the book but this is one of the few books where it is hard to put it down once you read the end of a chapter. I am interested to see how the book comes together and finishes off.
The novel opens in the year 1902, in the town of New Rochelle, New York, with a description of an unnamed upper-class family. The narrator identifies the family members only as Father, Mother, the little boy, and Mother's Younger Brother. I really like that the narrator only uses these terms to identify them. I believe it adds a certain effect on the entire book. When Harry Hudien’s car breaks down in front of there house and the father tells him of his plans to go to the Artic, I find it funny because the boys hero is Harry. The narrator describes the lot of the immigrants who steadily pour into New York City. The city's residents, even older immigrants, do not look favorably upon the new immigrants, and treat them with perpetual disrespect. An immigrant family, Mameh, Tateh, and The Little Girl, live a life typical of the immigrant situation. I also enjoyed this part of the story because it shows of the narrator’s feeling towards racism, and how people tend to treat others they do not see as themselves. When Harry is thrown in to the tombs as a test of his escaping abilities and stumbles upon the cell of Harry K. the narrator did a very good job I feel, in ensuring there was a certain unpleasant feeling in the air.
When I read over my peers comments, there were two main things that stood out to me; I noticed that a lot of my classmates observed the difference, from traditional novels, in the technical, and punctuation aspects of the text, and also in the way the novel progresses. For the technical aspect, my peers detected a lack of both commas and quotation marks. Some of my peers believed the lack of this punctuation helped contribute to the way that the book flowed. Others attribute the lack of punctuation for “just” the way E.L. Doctorow writes. Personally, the former is more convincing. I especially like how Deborah put it with “The story is in constant motion, and I think this movement relates to the feeling Doctorow was trying to convey.” I also enjoyed how she related it to the time period and referred to it as being “an age of Movement”
The second thing I noticed, the way the book progresses, was something I did not even comprehend before reading the comments. Some of my peers said the reason for this was because it helped made the stories blend together. It was also said, that, like the lack of punctuation, it was connected to the book flowed. I liked how Liz said “the storylines run parallel to each other”, which is a line I completely agree with. All the characters are connected in some way, and have a lot in common with one another. Reading these comments enlightened me and helped me organize my own thoughts, thoughts that I did not realize I had before hand.
I have found Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow to be one of the most enticing books I have read so far this year. It is not only intriguing by its story, which is pretty good in of itself, but also due to the writing style. By choosing to only give the characters a description, as Mother or Mother’s Younger Brother, Doctorow manages to distance the narration from them and let us, the readers, see a broader picture. Another fairly uncommon detail of the book is the lack of an obvious protagonist or antagonist, which, while uncommon, brings this particular book together in an unexpected way. Rather than follow a set story line, due to the lack of a protagonist or antagonist, the book feels like a depiction of many events, rather than a single one, all relating, at least in part, to the unnamed characters that Doctorow has created, which range from the simple, upper class family mention before to the first generation immigrant Tetah, a peddler. This book brings a lot of questions to the mind of the readers, making it more of a reflection on the issues of that time, and in part of today. On major issue raised in Ragtime is the state of immigration and tenements, which while drastically important during the early 1900s, may seem far away and unimportant nowadays. But what this book made me see is that while this may be a distant problem, there still needs to be immigration reform, though we need it differently now. Again, this book was really a great book, and I will recommend it to many people if they need a book to read. I would never have just picked it up off the self to read personally, so I am glad you assigned it to us, and I am looking forward to the author’s visit, as I have some questions for him.
Many of my peers have very insightful thoughts about Ragtime. I would like to respond to Camille T’s question, “Doctorow has an artistic license to write how he would like, but do you think he does this for a stylistic reason to affect how we read the novel?” Camille, I definitely agree with your statement concerning Doctorow’s style of writing. He does not use correct English grammar, but he is a published author. This allows him to write in any way he pleases. In chapter one of the novel, it says, “He leaned over the side door. Goodbye, Sonny, he said holding out his hand. Warn the Duke, the little boy said” (10). This conversation, along with many others in the book, does not include quotation marks. Maybe Doctorow was trying to create a sense of intimacy between the young boy and Harry Houdini by the absence of quotation marks. Adding quotation marks to a text causes the conversation to be very narrated and script like. It does have the ability to portray feeling, but when the quotations are taken away from the conversation, it gives the conversation a whole new meaning. It allows the reader to be engrossed within the text. The absence of quotation marks lets the sentences mesh together, more thoroughly. When placing quotation marks in a work, it distinguishes the difference between a spoken conversation and a piece of narration. Doctorow might have thought that when he did not place the quotation marks, it had caused a feeling of connectedness between the narrations and the characters’ conversations. I hope that this clearly answered your question Camille, or at least allowed you to ponder Doctorow's writing style more rigorously.
The story of Tateh, his daughter, and Evelyn Nesbit, was an excellent choice (for whoever chose to write about that story in their summary). I loved the way Zane told the main points of the story; it was clean and to the point.
The summary and explanations were marvelous, but I thought you could have given your opinion of the situation, the book, or another story, followed by a quote to back up your thoughts and statements.
To answer Zane’s questions, first, I thought that Tateh ran away because he was, in that moment very disgusted with Evelyn. Tateh was a religious man and he had lost his wife because of prostitution. Since Evelyn was a celebrity, known for messing around with men and then getting her pathetic husband out of jail, Tateh may have regretted his decision to let her into his house. I then thought, with Evelyn’s situation on his shoulders, Tateh realized that his life was a mess in the dumps of New York, which also meant the same for his daughter’s life. I think all the pressure and his feelings then told him to leave the states and start a new life. To support this statement, when Tateh had decided to leave, Evelyn was not in his head: “every once in a while he would look at his child and seeing the sure destruction of her incredible beauty in his continuing victimization he would clutch her to him and tears would fill his eyes. The little girl quietly prepared their meals in ways so reminiscent of the movement of his wife that finally he could bear the situation no longer. Throwing their few clothes in a suitcase...” (90). This quote was where he decided to leave New York, for the sake of his daughter, and the seminar reminded him of his situation: that of his growing, beautiful daughter. Second, yes. I believe you are correct when explaining Evelyn’s relationship with her husband and Stanford White. I thought the same thing. Evelyn Nesbit had an affair, her crazy husband, Harry K. Thaw, found out. Then Thaw killed the man which then got him sent to prison as he awaited trial.
I also agree with Philip and Kelly. Their summaries were similar to mine. I agreed with the way Philip characterized Doctorow’s portrayal of the stories. This did help one get a feel for the characters. I also thought the vocabulary helped in that regard. The intense words seemed to make me hold my breath when a character was in trouble, or cry when someone else cried; I felt empathy for each character. I thought the way Doctorow portrayed stories was related to the way Doctorow wanted to incorporate history into his book. I realized that most people thought that Ragtime was a fabulous book, and so did I.
This book, Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow, was unusually written. It had many abrupt setting changes and the characters were unnamed. I agree with Emily in saying that the character changes were a very amazing part of the book. I also agree with Deborah in saying that the different perspectives really portrayed the time period. As for the unnamed characters I thought that was a very good idea because it portrayed a seemingly average group of people being mixed up in events that shaped the time period. I liked this book very much and thought it was well written. I still do have a few questions though. I still wonder how JP Morgan was able to smuggle the sarcophagus and how (if anyone found out) was he able to cover it up? What is a moving book? And finally In the story, was Tateh described as the inventor of the projector? All of these questions have been rattling around in my head as I came across them in the book. But none the less I still liked this book very much.
After reading my peers reactions to Ragtime, I am able to notice a trend in how people felt about the book. Generally, readers began the book with anxiety and dread of the novel’s subject matter and content, expecting it to be uninteresting. It seems as though everyone who portrayed these thoughts were later finding that they enjoyed the novel. Also, most readers of the book were overwhelmed by the multitude of characters and story lines. The resolution and how they would all eventually intertwine amazed and brought satisfaction to many of the readers in the class. In addition to these observations, it was interesting to see how people would identify with particular characters and pick favorites of their own. In response to this, my favorite character is Mother’s Younger Brother because I find the way he is described to be so fascinating and mysterious. We find out more about him throughout the novel as he becomes Evelyn’s lover. His eccentricity and behavior lead me to really love his character. He and characters like him heightened my enjoyment of the novel Ragtime.
I really enjoyed reading other responses to the novel after posting my own. Many of them brought up themes from the book that I did not pick up on. For example, Brigid C. discussed how each character was really a representative of an important group of the times. Her point showed another contrast between the real and fictional characters in the book. I think the fictional characters are used as representatives more than the real ones. The real characters are included because they were important historical figures of the time, not because they are individuals portraying a larger group. For example, the J.P. Morgan character in the novel often expresses his regret that there are none as powerful or smart as he; he is lonely, and has no group to be a part of. Perhaps Doctorow was trying to show how the real individuals in the novel interacted with the real masses. He did so by crafting a story in which they interact with fictional representatives of those masses.
Emily F. also made an excellent point in her response to a question in a previous post. She argued that Doctorow’s omission of quotation marks lent a sense of “intimacy” and “connectedness” to the novel. Although her explanation of the lack of quotation marks in the text was different from my own, it was interesting to see another take on the issue, and I believe both arguments can apply at once. Doctorow draws the reader in with his unique style of dialogue, ensuring they are swept along in the story. As a result, readers experience the sense of movement that I originally thought was the rationale behind the lack of quotation marks.
When I was about half-way through reading this book, honestly, I was not sure I was getting it. Though I read it and understood what was happening, I thought I missed the meaning of it. I thought about how I could connect to the story and I realized I was looking at it wrong. I was analyzing it too much of a story of someone’s life and was not getting the significance. I started to look at it from a farther away view and started to get the picture. The sample slices we read of fictional and non-fictional characters uncensored experiences, all added up to the unifying theme. I found it to be about America as a whole in this period of revolutionary change affecting different people. I found reading other reviews online and of my peers enjoyable. We perceived many elements the same, and some we regarded separately. I appreciated Emily’s analysis on Doctorow’s use of punctuation, something most of us picked up on. A question Zane had was, “Is Tateh running away just because he didn’t know who Evelyn was, and it was such as surprise?” I believe that after he realized that she was a bit of a celebrity in addition to her bad reputation with other men, he was surprised and felt possible betrayed. Though they did not know each other’s names, they had a silent bond and a level of mutual trust because she was acting as a type of mother figure for the little girl and helping to support the household. I really appreciated this book. It forced me to go outside my box to not only read a story, but interpret and analyze it as well.
The novel Ragtime by E.L Doctorow is one of the best novel I have ever read. When Mr.Igoudjil assigned this novel for us to read, I was not to keen to read it, but once I started it, this novel is so interesting ! Coming form a different country, I feel that this novel make me understand about the United States more. One element in the novel that I like it that E.L. Doctorow uses real life person in his novel like Harry Houdini. Another interesting element in this novel is that, it makes me more curious and wanting to know more about the novel, each time I read it, its hard for me to stop because the plot makes me more and more curious. This novel also well potrays the culture that it true, but hardly seen of. For example, Mameh is forced to prostitute herself to make end meets in her family. I also like it when the novel talks about history, for instants, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Countess Sophie ; a famous Austrian-Hungarian Prince and his wife was mention in the novel. Therefore, this is a very interesting novel. Im looking forward for more of it.
After going through my classmates’ comments and questions about Ragtime by E.L Doctorow, a few comments have really stood out to me. I really like how Deborah wrote, “ speech is part of the paragraph”. I think this is part of Doctorow’s style, and it adds simplicity to a complicated plot. I am actually a fan of this form of style. I think it forces the reader have to focus and to read slowly and carefully. I liked how Emily talked about this in response to Camille’s post. Emily wrote, “ Adding quotations marks to the text causes the text to be very narrated and script like.” I agree with this because I think that with the quotation marks, the story loses its flow. Without the use of quotation marks, it gives the book originality because so many other novels there are quotation marks everywhere. I also completely agree with what Liz wrote, “ the storylines all sort of blend together.” This is similar in what I wrote about with how Houdini and Evelyn never met but they continued the all had relationships with the same people. Houdini meets Harry K. Thaw in the prison and Evelyn is in a relationship with him. Houdini knows of Mrs. Fish, a great fan of the late Stanford White, and Evelyn was Stanford’s mistress. These people’s lives are running parallel to each other and they are never crossing paths. This book was very interesting with its simple language, but more complex plot. I plan to read other works of Mr. Doctorow’s in the near future.
I absolutely agree with Camille when she said, “[initially] I was not very excited to have to read a book that was not one of my choice.” I felt the same way. The way I usually select my books are by looking at the covers. The cover of this book told me that it would be a fictional account of a historical war. War stories do not interest me at all. But as I read the book Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow I realized that this was a fictional account of a historical era, not a war. This interested me greatly. I have enjoyed following the characters of the novel around in their everyday lives. After reading Alex’s post I realized that Doctorow’s novel is a work of genius. At first the book was very hard for me to follow, because of the flow of the novel. As I continued to read the novel the flow of the story began to make more sense and the diction began to make the action more vivid. It seems that Alex and I felt the same way when we began to read the novel. Although my first impression of the novel was negative, I began to agree with Alex that this is one of the most outstanding novels I have ever read. I also agree with Alex that each element of the novel surprises the reader making the novel so much more impressive. Similar to Alex as well, I felt as though the novels transitions were very choppy which confused me primarily, however, as the story progressed, my appreciation for Doctorow’s writing style increased.
The novel of Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow is intriguing and well thought out. Even thought I haven't finish reading the book yet, I really admired what I had read so far. When I saw the book, I was not very excited to read it, but after the first few chapters, I was 'hooked.' I usually don't read books about the early 20th century, but I found the book to be a great fit for me. There are many reasons why I especially enjoy the book. First, I enjoyed the way that the author, E.L Doctorow, uses historical figures to interact with the characters such as Harry Houdini and Henry Ford. This element makes the story more realistic. Furthermore, I was very pleased by the setting that he decided the setting of New York in the early 1900's. It really fits the storyline; the setting shapes the story. If it was any other city, the story would be completely different. Another thing I made me fond about the book was how Doctorow used figurative words such as "sliding" and "her voice rang." These words make the story more interesting and create a image of what is going on within the story. It's like watching a movie or a a television show. Finally, another element that the author used to make the story interesting the intertwining story lines. The multiple families, who were in different situations, made many different views on many events. This book was an enjoyable experience and I will like to read more of the works of E.L. Doctorow.
After reading many of my peer’s comments, I realized that many of us share the same ideas. I would like comment on Emily F comment that she made about the different secrets in the book. I never noticed this Emily until you mentioned it and what you said really makes sense. I like the way how you thought of how the secrets of the book can also be secrets of the world. To answer your question Emily, I would have to say that the author wants the secrets to be revealed. I say this because if he did not want there to be secrets then there would have never been a story line. It is just like you stated, there are many secrets in the novel and I feel as though the author wanted those secrets to be found and analyzed.
I agree with some of my other peers that the lack of quotations in the novel really bring out its uniqueness. As I sit here and think, this book reminds me a lot of the movie Crash. If you have not seen this movie I highly recommend it! Just like Ragtime, Crash has a story of people from all walks of life. It is actually just a modern day Ragtime, just put into a movie.
I would also like to comment on Tunde S question. The antagonist and protagonist could be different depending on your personal view of the story. I really do not think that anyone character can fall into one category because of the different things that went through. I agree with Tunde S when he says that a main theme in the novel was the tolerance of change. It is really evident, especially with all of the revolutionaries like Emma Goldman; that our society at this time was trying to refuse change at all levels. Change is never easy for people.
I really like how everyone is able to connect our ideas together to make everyone see their views of the same novel. I am so excited to meet Mr. Doctorow in person and I plan on reading another one of his novels very soon.
I found the novel of Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow to be an enjoyable story. Many people agree with me such as Gloria S. She as she said, “Each character has his unique personality and story that ties into another character’s life.” I totally agree with this statement because there were three families within the storyline and they all contributed to the plot in each of their own unique way. I also agree with the statement by Phillip G. Phil stated that he “…like Doctorow’s application of history and usage of the lives and stories of real people in the book. He would take the information he knew about their existences, and he would depict them in a fictional story line.” I feel the same way as him because I think Doctorow’s use of non-fictional characters in a fictional story line makes the story and experience of the book more enjoyable to the reader. Furthermore, in response to Joy S’s blog response, “does Mother’s responsibility for the black girl and her newborn baby bring up a theme of the lives of blacks in the early 20th century?” I feel that Mother’s responsibility for the young black girl was used as symbolism in the story. It is used as symbolism to the fact that even though blacks were free by the early 1900’s, they were still looked down upon, as in the situation of Mother to the child. As I read everyone’s response to the great story by E.L. Doctorow, it was an enjoyable experience.
After reading the responses of my peers, I learned a lot about others perspective of the novel, Ragtime. Most of them had similar views of the novel. My peers have asked several interesting questions that, most definitely, can be answered by their peers. I agree with Imhotepa H. in her response about the use of third party naming. This made the story hard to keep up with, as far as, which character is who. After reading through the first couple chapters, I had gotten familiar with the use of the third party naming. Many of my peers enjoyed the way, E.L. Doctorow, incorporated his knowledge of American history and stories of real families who lived during the 1990s. I liked the way he was able to combine several nonfiction stories and turn them into a fictional story. I agree with most of my peers about the plot of the novel being intriguing. The complex structure of the plot is what kept my attention and encouraged me to keep reading. I agree with Gloria’s idea that, “the novel was created for all people”. The novel consists of different stories that can be understood by most readers, well at least by my peers. I believe that if E.L. Doctorow, would have used quotation marks, the story would have been easier to read. While reading my peers responses, I noticed that most of them disliked the fact that E.L. Doctorow did not use quotations, which confused most of them and made it had to understand certain parts of story. The comments of my peers allowed me to really think about the plot more in depth.
When reading the comments of my classmates, many of them share the same thought about Ragtime as I do. A comment that caught my attention was when Liz mentions that the book doesn’t use quotation, so it is hard to tell the difference between who’s speaking. I also found it difficult to keep track of the characters. I had to reread section to really gather who the character was. It was also difficult because I couldn’t tell when the dialogue ended or began, and when the story was just being told. This also ties into what Liz was saying about the way the book flows. Another comment that caught my attention is when Gloria says that the book inspires its readers to look past the norm and expose themselves to different views and personalities. I completely agree with her. When reading the book you are introduced to so many different personalities and viewpoints you have to be open minded to fully understand where that character is coming from and what they are going through. For example, when Coalhouse bombs the fire stations, you must understand, thought what he is doing is wrong, he is trying to make a point. His point is for them to take him seriously as black male and as part of the society. By being open to these new viewpoints, you are exposed to the realities of different groups of people during this time. You get to see and sometimes even imagine how a black man was treated, or how a rich celebrity was treated. This really helps to captivate the readers and immerse them into the story.
Ragtime truly piques the reader’s interest throughout the whole novel, and my fellow classmates agree. What I liked, I mean loved, the most was how each of the stories seamlessly entwine throughout the novel. Who could imagine a novel that had real and fictional characters that correlated with the time period like the richest man in the world, an anarchist, a widowed, socialist Jew from the slums and his quiet daughter, a murderous musician, a world-renowned magician, a young black mother and fatherless baby, a young sex symbol, and a middle-class family that owned a fireworks business? It was ingenious! Each story resonated with me, especially Sarah and Coalhouse’s story.
After reading my classmates’ blog posts, I mostly agree with their comments. Unlike some students, I thought that the novel would be somewhat interesting. However, we all enjoyed it by the end. I agree with Imhotepa, for the “intense vocabulary” really adds to the story because they make each sentence more vivid. I also agree with Gloria’s statement about how the tone in the beginning of the novel differentiates from the end of the novel, which I did not realize until reading her post. The first chapter is, in a sense, what a “picture perfect” America should look like, while on the other hand, the end is somewhat dismal in regards to the closing of the Ragtime era and the beginning of a war-torn era. Camille also points out that “unifying theme” of the novel is that each story reflects America during this time period. I definitely agree that each of the stories embody real events and ideas that were present 20th century America before the First World War. I am looking forward to the discussion with the author!
It has been interesting to read everyone’s analysis and opinions of Ragtime and I have some input of my own. Firstly, I disagree with the statement a couple of people made about the characters’ lives running parallel but never crossing paths. Some prime examples of how the character’s lives cross paths are Houdini’s interaction in the very beginning with Mother, Father, the boy, and Grandfather in their home; Mother, Father, and the boy’s friendship with Tateh and his daughter; Coalhouse Walker, Jr.’s invasion of J. P. Morgan’s library; and Mother’s Younger Brother’s affair with Evelyn Nesbit. These are all different characters that end up interacting although their stories start out separately. Secondly, I agree with Phillip’s opinion of Mother’s Younger Brother as an intriguing character, his behavior is mysterious and it is interesting to learn more about him as the story goes on. For example, when Evelyn mentions him because he is following her around, I did not make the connection that he was Mother’s Younger Brother. Thirdly, David’s observation, about how giving the characters a description but no specific name helps the reader to see a broader picture, is very true. It is important to think about, because in reading Ragtime it is necessary to not look at the story as the lives of different people, but as an overall depiction of events. Fourthly, I also found interesting the observation that there is no set character, protagonist, or antagonist to follow unlike most novels. Somehow the story still made sense as it jumped back and forth between the lives of all the people; just as you get into one person’s story it would jump to the next person, which helped to create suspense. I really enjoyed reading Ragtime, and reading everyone else’s thoughts on the book gave me a lot to think about.
I have finally finished the book. It is amazing. I love how the different stories intertwine and at the end it tells how everybody turns out. It is really evident through the other students’ comments that this book was very enjoyable. I think that I will suggest it to my book club because I think that they will enjoy the book as well. I also strongly agree with Sackeya when she said that “it is vital to read the paragraphs carefully because there's emotional development, and surprises are at every page”. I believe that this is very important to know before you read the book, because if you rush through it, the beauty of the story can dim and not appear as bright as if your time while, reading it. I also agree with the multiple people who said that the change in the characters’ states was very interesting to observe. I also agree with my fellow students that said they enjoyed the mix between fact and fiction. This was my favorite quality of the book, because not only was I reading an attention grabbing book, but I was also getting a history lesson. I also enjoyed the poeticism and style of E.L. Doctorow’s writing. I learned many new words through the flow of his extraordinarily structured sentences. Throughout the story, he leaves the reader in question of the final outcome of the story in a unique and enticing way. Gooo Doctorow!
Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow is one of those books that one reads one day to find that it is completely distinct from every other book. Thus I start my essay, just as the overwhelming majority of my classmates have. Every individual critic must read unnumbered books, and he or she would call the majority something along the lines of “unprecedented”; this one read, however, cannot have this quality of uniqueness overstated, which is why so many of us students have stressed it so. There are many ways in which everyone agrees that Ragtime differs from other books, but the strongest message is that the punctuation deviates from the rules of English grammar. This stylistic decision truly captivated the readers, but it did not cause any confusion; instead, it was the plot that befuddled the masses. Though the unanimous consensus was that it seemed desultory at first, after a few pages the book was stuck as if by glue to the reader’s hands. The captivating stories of Houdini, Tateh and his daughter, Evelyn Nesbit, and other characters were balanced out perfectly. Usually, this technique of alternating protagonists will leave the reader wanting to read about one character but unenthusiastic when reading the drabber story; Doctorow, on the other hand, has not failed to make every individual plotline absolutely scintillating. Adrian also noted a characteristic of the book that has been discussed much less than it deserves: he remarked that, “the narrator only uses these terms to identify them.” This is, indeed, not a very widespread practice.
All of what I have said only begins to describe just how unique Ragtime is. If one were to dedicate as much of his or her time as necessary to completely analyze how Doctorow’s style digresses from that of most writers, they might come up with a book comparable in length to Ragtime, but probably not nearly comparable in quality.
Ragtime by E.L Doctorow is by far the best book I've read all school year. In comparison to all the other works I've read, Ragtime is a challenge. It requires more than the elementary ability to understand simple plot elements. It requires complex understanding, character and plot development, and a significant understanding of the pop culture during that time. In response to Emily’s post, I was confused as well when I first started reading. It was mostly because it was big transition from the much easier reading selections we’ve been reading through out the school year. She asks the question, “Does the author portray secrets in a way that they should be revealed or in a way that they should be unnoticed?” Well some readers like surprises and cliff hangers, while some like having all the answers. To answer your question, the author wants us to notice the secrets and mysteries, but just keep them in mind as opposed to noticing them and trying to decode them through out the story. Deborah makes an excellent comment about something that I noticed as well; a lack of quotation marks. This just adds to the beauty of the novel. Doctorow may have used this way to show the reader that everything the characters say is equally important as the narrations, and they don’t need be singled out by the means of quotation marks. Also, Tenena makes the comment “Although I am not used to reading this type of novel, it has caught my attention in different ways. I am not a hundred percent sure that I am comprehending the basis of the novel…” This just proves how amazing the power of Ragtime is. As I mentioned briefly before, the plot is only minor. She still is able to see Ragtime for all its literary goodness, without totally understanding some events.
While reading my peers review’s of the book Ragtime, I noticed that many of us had the same ideas about the book. The first review I read was Gloria’s and I can completely relate to what she thought about the novel once she realized what we were about to read “Eww here we go again” were her exact words. Many of my classmates said similar things, however, now that I have read the novel there is a brand new way of looking at it. Ragtime was a novel that you could relate to since it was about how different people live, being able to relate to a book makes it more interesting to read. When I began reading Philip’s response he talked about how the author, E.L. Doctorow, put a twist on things seeing as how he used well known historian people in the novel. However, this novel is different conisidering the author used them in a way that you could tell did not actually happen to them. Many books try to tell the life story of a historical figure, yet E.L. Doctorow used them in a way where it was clear who they were, but you know that is not an actual part of their life. Now that I have read the book I can read every ones response and understand where they are coming from. Overall my peers look at the book similar to me, I am happy that I read it because it was a novel that I enjoyed and, am not accustomed to reading.
While reading the comments on Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow, I have noticed that as certain people read the book things start off kind of confusing as the author introduces the characters but as he develops them things become clearer. I agree with Christie in saying that the book really comes together when the family meets Tateh and the little girl. It really provides how fickle social class was back then if you invent something amazing. It also reflects how two groups of people from two completely different backgrounds can meet and become the best of friends. Deborah and some others commented on the frequently changing plot perspectives and how they reflect the time period from different stand points. My favorite character is Father because the book describes him very well as a man who has a duty to his work and his family. The book tells us about how he is having trouble with his marriage and how they are very real problems. I agree with what Phillip said about Mother’s Younger Brother being described as eccentric but he was described as a realistic eccentric that people can relate to. I also agree with David Lu’s perspective in that Doctorow with holding the names of the characters it lets us see a broader picture. It lets us look at them as average people that reflect the entire populous instead of just individual characters that can go through growth all on their own without any influence from the times to push them along. I really enjoyed this book like many others in the class.
Since I read the responses, I felt more appreciative of Doctorow's writing style and tone. I knew that it was a unique novel for many reasons, but hearing other responses made me realize how much Doctorow's choice of words and format makes the novel interesting. I especially liked Deborah's response when she wrote about contrasts. I definitely agree that the interactions of Doctorow's diverse characters creates a certain feel for the diversity and divisions in America during the turn of the century. Another response I agreed with was Ja'Pria's. She pointed out Doctorow's mixture of history and facts with literature and speculation. Not only did this combination make the information of the novel easier to understand, but it captured my attention and made me want to read about the characters. If J.P. Morgan is mentioned in a text book, I am less intrigued because it is less likely the information will be interesting. But, reading about him in Ragtime , I wanted to know more about this complex character. It was even more interesting hearing Doctorow speak about writing scenes with historical figures; he was much less delicate about taking liberties than I expected him to be, which I liked, because he was more focused on capturing the dynamic of the character than creating a factual document about how the person lived.
El Doctorow's Ragtime was a very well-written, interesting book. When beginning to read the book, I was not very excited about reading it because of my reluctance to read books assigned to me in school. The book started off slow and took time to introduce characters and themes. I was not very interested in the beginning and often had trouble paying attention to the details. After reading a few chapters I began to get more interested in the storyline and it became more entertaining. I became accustomed to E.L Doctorow's style of writing and that alone helped me understand the story more clearly. EL. Doctorow was very descriptive in his writing which especially intrigued me. He manipulated styles of writing and vocabulary so that a plain sentence could be more descriptive. i admired how he linked each character to one another creating a web of relationships and personalities. I must say, I did not think I would have enjoyed the book as much as I did. I would recommend Ragtime to any young adult.
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