History as Fiction - Aditi

There is tension between Dana and Rufus throughout Kindred , at the beginning mostly because of their racial and gender differences, but only getting worse as they become more attached to each other and the other characters. They understand their mutual connection to varying extents -- they both know they're bonded for some reason, neither fully understand the time travel (who does?) besides that Dana shows up to save Rufus's life, and only Dana knows that she is Rufus's great-great-whatever-granddaughter. But because of their relationship -- especially the familial aspect -- they are linked and depend on each other to survive. As a result, they both have leverage over the other, which combines nastily with the societal power dynamics between a white man and black woman in the 1800s. With those two, it frequently feels like a frustrating back-and-forth between who can out-threaten the other into doing what they want, and often with significant, harmful stakes, causing the r...

 At the end of Mumbo Jumbo , Hinckle Von Vampton and Hubert "Safecracker" Gould are captured, but Jes Grew dissolves. Nevertheless, PaPa LaBas remains optimistic that it will resurface, that it will never die out. Which makes one wonder: what would a true victory for Jes Gew -- or, for that matter, Atonism -- actually look like? PaPa LaBas (whom, on a completely unrelated note, I have the irresistible urge to keep calling Pops LeBops) says that Jes Grew has existed since before the universe and may outlive even death itself. Of course, the discussion of what exactly Jes Grew is is a whole other can of worms, but I take it as a representation of some part of a culture, especially African culture, that is the lifeforce of the people, that ties cultures to their roots, that evokes freedom, but also that threatens the status quo. According to the story, it seems that once Jes Grew finds its Text, its existence and place in mainstream culture will no longer be so uneasy. People wi...

We are given few details about the young woman who shows up at the family's house when her baby is discovered in their garden. However, her arrival sets the biggest events of the story in motion. The family sort of adopts her and her baby, which makes Mother more of a prominent and independent character and brings Coalhouse into the narrative. Sarah's death intensifies Coalhouse's feelings of injustice, leading to his vigilantism and eventually to the family going to Atlantic City and meeting Tateh and his daughter. I believe that Sarah is meant to be more of a plot device than a character in the ways that the others are. While other main characters' growth can be tracked (such as Tateh's beliefs and standing in society), Sarah seems at the whim of the universe more than her own agency. What little we know about her life before meeting the family, including allegedly killing her baby, seem to be the result of the social class she was born into. With Mother's hel...

 The world of Ragtime  is populated by both the factual and the fictional. As these lines blur, one distinct theme is that the historical figures are named, while the majority of the fictional characters are given only vague descriptors, such as "Tateh" or "Mother's Younger Brother." Because the book serves as a commentary on early twentieth century industrial America, the vagueness may be part of its message. The trials and tribulations the characters undergo can be extrapolated to any family in the country. The central figures of the book represent the experiences of many Americans at a specific moment in history. This applicability, or flexibility, makes the scope of the themes examined in the book -- such as racism and wealth discrepancy -- feel much more broad, common, and inevitable. Another theme of the book is how the various groups of people -- such as Evelyn and men in her life or Tateh and his daughter -- each have complex stories, and how those stori...