Black and White Things are Bad. Also, Symbolism.
From what I can tell, Ragtime
is one long use of symbolism. Every moment is referencing something, be it
human nature, society shifting, social constructions, another part of the book,
or something else, and if you stare at the page long enough you’ll find the
connection.
Even though the symbolism is sometimes blatant, it’s always
creative and quite striking. The events of the book, such as Houdini crashing
into a lamppost, seem at times unlikely, but they’re well thought out and
convey something in their unlikeliness, such as the assertion that the writer
has omnipotent power over his novel world. Doctorow always makes the effort to
write something we wouldn’t expect but can appreciate, unlike Ralph Ellison who
uses symbolism somewhat gratuitously (Don’t get me wrong, Invisible Man is genius, all I’m saying is we gEt it everything has
racial undertones you don’t have to say that his socks were black and his
shoelaces were white and his lungs were slowly blackening from the white
cigarette smoke and his soul was a white blizzard from the darkness in his mind
and WE GET IT). Every scene in the book is linked to other scenes, other ideas,
other characters and settings, and most of the connections probably go over my
head.
For example, on page 27 the “morose novelist Theodore
Dreiser” is found turning his chair in circles all night trying to find an
alignment that feels right. I’ve never read something like that before, it’s a
creative and unique description, definitely symbolic, but of wHAt. It’s
connected to the scene on page 81 where Peary walked miles back and forth along
the ice floe, trying to calculate his position, but cannot determine one that
satisfies him. Both scenes convey restlessness and the search for an elusive
something. Is it the unstable future of America that no one can control? Is it
the changing world, in terms of women’s rights and the new Ford economy and
immigration? Or is it just two wacks who need insomnia medication or vitamin D?
Maybe all three.
Ok update: Doctorow might be playing on the white/black
symbolism. He described Coalhouse’s outfit on pg 156 in terms of black and
gray: “He wore a fitted black overcoat, a black and white houndstooth suit,
gray spats and pointed black shoes.” Then his vigilantes drive a white town
car. I groaned inwardly. I know Doctorow’s probably not playing on the white/black
symbolism, and I’m just being sensitive, but after Invisible Man I can never regard monochrome clothing in the same
way again. Note to all authors: stop using black and white objects in books
concerning race.
Anyway, there’s a lot of perpetuating themes in the book.
Another example is the theme of sexual freedom, how it develops in Freud and
literally explodes in mother’s younger brother (I like to call him Myb, “Mib”)
and manifests in mother. Evelyn Nesbit also explores sexual freedom, but it bites
her in the butt with the loss of settlement money and Tateh + Gip (Girl in
pinafore) possibly symbolizing that women are not allowed to be sexual.
And obviously, there’s plenty of other symbolism and themes.
Which one is your favorite so far? Do you think I’m over-generalizing? What’s
your opinion on black socks?
Black socks are boring. Multicolored rainbow socks are definitely the way to go.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, I found your blog post really interesting, and I loved all of the connections you draw throughout the chapters. I’m always surprised, when we read the same book, how much more you seem to get out of it. My one-dimensional mind is evidently not built to find hidden symbolism in stories.
I never would have noticed the connection between Dreiser and Peary (and I dismissed both descriptions as some of Doctorow’s weird tangents), but now that you’ve said it, it makes total sense. Both are throwaway characters, never mentioned again after their brief cameos – but they share this one weird connection. Peary is, of course, actually lost and trying to find the proper direction to the North Pole, while Geiser is sitting in his room having a nervous breakdown – but there’s the same sense of … incompleteness. Dissatisfaction. In a novel like Ragtime, so focused on the changing dynamics of America, the turn-of-the-century America that pushed some characters like Coalhouse and MYB into radicalism while leaving other characters like Father behind in the “old world” mentality they can’t seem to escape – these tiny vignettes about struggling to find direction, struggling to feel stable and secure, become far more meaningful.
I definitely agree on how much symbolism Doctorow managed to jam into this book, because it's kind of all over the place regarding what he's talking about or criticizing or playing with or whatever else you want to call it. All of the seemingly one-off chapters or characters we meet have traits that seem to work towards some bigger picture that Doctorow is trying to sketch of this period in American history. I personally feel like Doctorow plays a lot with the general "Gilded Age" idea of the time period and how things were all fine and dandy and America was becoming an economic powerhouse. But then there's all these snippets of dissatisfaction or upheaval of the system that we see throughout the book, implying there's something hidden in all the perfection that implies things aren't as flawless as they seem on the surface. I don't know if all of the symbolism is ultimately shooting for that idea, but it's definitely the vibe I got from reading.
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