Little Boy vs. American Dream

The American Dream of a nice house with a white picket fence and an average of 2.5 kids. While the family in Ragtime doesn't have 2.5 kids, they still do follow the guidelines of the American Dream. The American Dream is one that emphasizes stability. However, this vision of stability is challenged by the little boy, who focuses on change. In one instance, the little boy listens to a record over and over again, almost as if he were expecting to hear something different eventually. In another instance, the little boy looks at his reflection in a mirror, noticing every change, no matter how minuscule, and "gaze at himself until there were two selves facing one another". The little boy would also stare at statues, noticing how each time he looked at a statue, the colors would be slightly different or pieces would be missing. The little boy is the best character to use because, as a child, he's bound to be more open minded than the other characters in the book who are adults. As a child, the little boy's the one that will look at the world in amazement and questions everything he sees. He's the one that won't just sit back and accept things the way they're told to him, he'll be curious. This is why I think Doctorow used the little boy as the one to challenge the American Dream of stability. He's a child, which makes it realistic and probable for him to not just sit back and accept what he's told.

A Slight Disappointment

Having read the ending of Ragtime, I was very disappointed. I thought it was hastily put together, especially since only two of the male characters were alive by the end. I've heard the saying, "one death is tragic, 100 deaths is a statistic". While there weren't 100 male characters that died, most of the men still died and to me, it seemed less significant. The ending also reminded me of how I used to end short story assignments. I wouldn't know what else to do with the characters so I just killed them off. I could understand Coalhouse being killed since he did break the law repeatedly and was in a building surrounded by cops. If Coalhouse hadn't been killed I would have been surprised. However, Younger Brother and Father dying seemed completely random. It felt like their deaths were only for the purpose of helping Tateh. Younger Borther's death helped deteriorate Father and Mother's marriage and Father's death allowed for Tateh to marry mother. The whole situation with Father being on dying was also very convenient after Tateh was shown taking an interest in Mother. Overall, I disliked that Doctorow killed off most of the male characters because to me, it seemed like he had given up trying to figure out what to do with them and sentenced them to death.