The Novel: Ragtime - Term Paper Example

?English 2 Michael Gustin 5/20 Ragtime In the novel, the ship called the Roosevelt is critical to the plot of the novel because it helps the author to illustrate the events in the novel. The characters in the novel use the ship to travel to North Pole. Further, the ship helps the reader to understand the mind of the characters involved. The trip that the father prepares is successful because he uses the ship as the instrument that enables him to reach his destinations. The ship helps the author to introduce the desires of Father who traveled to the North Pole. The author introduces Theodore Dreiser in chapter four. Dreiser is an iconic figure in the novel because he is one of the characters, which other characters in the novel emulated. The introduction of this character helps the reader to understand why people tend to emulate others in the society. In the novel characters admired lavish lifestyle as opposed to the poor life. For example, Theodore adjusts his seat in order to feel much comfortable. Largely, nearly every character in the novel admired comfortable life. The novel introduces Mathew Henson at chapter ten where he acts as the assistant to Father. Henson plays an instrumental role in Father’s journey to the North Pole. Further, the reader is able to relate the life in the North Pole. Henson proposed to Father that he could not travel to North Pole with Esquimos alone. He leads Father’s journey to the North Pole. His presence enables Father to travel to the North Pole. Novel mentions Hansen name when Father condemn the action Walker. Father states that Walker could be dangerous man because he is able to transform the current trends in the society (Doctorow 57). In the novel, the author introduces Archduke Franz Ferdinand in chapter thirteen. The author uses Ferdinand to illustrate the societal rejection of policies that favor the rich. In the novel, a Serbian patriot assassinates Ferdinand as a show of rejection to Ferdinand’s ideology. In the novel, Tateh changes his image to Baron Ashkenazy. Ashkenazy is rich and he appears in the public domain as a successful entrepreneur. The dramatic change of Tateh’s life to Baron shows that the poor are able to shun poverty and lead a prosperous life. In the novel, Doctorow stated that the wealthy led a different life from the poor. For instance, Father has businesses, which makes his family prosperous. He engages in business activities, which differ from other poor people in the novel. For example, Father hires the ship Roosevelt that he uses to travel across the globe. While travelling, the Roosevelt passes the immigrants ship traveling towards United States with an aim of looking for jobs. The immigrants are searching for a better place to earn their life is evident in this scene. It is arguable that a poor person cannot embark on an exploration journey because he or she does not have the money to support the same. Doctorow focused his story on human activities that defined their social background. The industrial background in the novel illustrates the influence of wealth in the society. The owners of the industries are rich while their servants are poor. Thus, they have to work tirelessly to earn a living out of the wages they receive from the industries. The desires of the poor in the novel differ from the desires of the rich. For example, Houdini realized that the society had people who belonged to the upper class. Further, Doctorow illustrates the difference between the poor and rich by describing the struggle of various characters in the novel. The intention of the struggle is to strive towards a better standard of life. The culture of the characters described in the novel helps the author to illustrate his themes. In novel, the Father travels to North Pole where the author pointed on different social background. It is arguable that the social status of characters such as Father can help to explain the difference between the rich in the society and the poor. For instance, while father is in Egypt, he conducts he exploration with the assistance from Henson. The culture of the people in the novel depends on their wealth. For example, father leads a rich life, which allows him to make choices of luxury. Most instances where luxurious moves appear, the rich must be party to them. In novel, the narrator evokes the emotion of the reader by pointing on incidences where poverty leads to death. For example, the narrator stated that it appeared that society had slotted quotas for death through starvation. Doctorow does not only use the ironic language when describing the social differences between the poor in the society and the rich, but also the activities of the poor. The language spoken by Father in the novel helps to illustrate the above. Doctorow illustrates the social differences by using minor characters such as Houdini and Tateh to portray the difference that appear between the poor and the rich. Doctorow characterizes the poor as a people with limited knowledge in the society. For example, technological development makes Houdini restless. Doctorow uses a descriptive tone to illustrate the effects of poverty and wealth. For example, the German doctor condemned his journey to United States and their lifestyle. The doctor concluded by stating that America is a gigantic mistake (Doctorow 28). Largely, the doctor did not observe anything pleasing in America other than poverty scourge and wealthy people on the other end. Literal language used in the novel might confuse the reader. For example, the narrator demonstrates that he knows the thoughts of the boy, thus the reader might think that the boy is the narrator of the story, on the contrary the voice in the novel belongs to the third party. The novel has various symbols, which represent various social conditions that define the difference between the poor and the rich. For example, Nesbit led a poor life; however, she decides to use her body to salvage her from the poor life. Her action reveals the impact of the dangers of leading a poor life. It is arguable that Nesbit is a symbol of social struggle from poverty (Fowler 84). In novel, Doctorow uses her as a figure that struggles to walk out of a given bondage. In her case, she employs all possible methods including moral decadence to fight poverty. Another symbol used in novel is Coalhouse Walker. Walker is symbolic in the novel because it represents the African American. The group represented by this symbol belongs to the poor group. However, Coalhouse Walker does not accept his position in the novel. He surprised Father by challenging him. Largely, the whites, represented in the novel by Father, looked down upon the African-Americans. Conversely, the African-Americans do not embrace the manner in which the whites describe them to be. The actions of the Coalhouse in the novel help the reader to appreciate the historical injustices between the poor and the rich (Fowler 76). Doctorow described the lifestyle of the Negroes who worked for thirteen hours a day at pay of six cents per hour (Doctorow 11). It appears that the pay was meager thus subjecting the Negroes to work for long hours. The Negroes worked with their children and women in the tobacco farms and the industries (Doctorow 13). Further, the narrator indicates that theatrical firms staged plays in honor of the poor who worked tirelessly in the coalmines, cotton mills, farms and the steel mills. Notable the theatrics would dress in rags, drink from chipped mugs and eat from tinplates as a show of poverty (Doctorow 13). In conclusion, the novel Ragtime portrays both fictitious and real characters. The real characters are symbols of the societal events, which the author intended to address. The author develops his story from the social structure where the poor and the rich belong to different divides. The author uses the main characters such Father to illustrate various themes in the novel. The main characters do not display the themes alone; however, minor characters helped in cementing a given theme. Doctorow uses a figurative language to change the mood of the story while discussing a given theme. The characterization of the novel brings various characters together as antagonists and the protagonist in the story. Work Cited Doctorow, E. L. Ragtime. New York: Penguin. 1976. Print. Fowler, Douglas. Understanding E. L. Doctorow. The South Carolina Press. 1992. Print. Read More