The Name Game of Ragtime
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 stories impact each other when they collide. By naming characters using their titles, I believe it keeps the characters' relationships in the spotlight as they shift and grow. For example, Mother is the mother of the Little Boy and wife of Father. However, as the narrative continues, her bond with Father diminishes and her identity becomes more focused on being a mother to Sarah and her baby.
The only anomalies (at least, that I can think of) are Sarah, Coalhouse Walker, and Willie Conklin (who, so far, is only a side character). There is a difference between Sarah and Coalhouse and the other characters in that their backstories are not given. They are suddenly dropped into the family's story. They do bring in a perspective of Black people's experience at this time in American history, but most of what they do is told from the perspective of how they affect the family, which may be why their names are given as identifiers but we don't get full pictures of them as characters. Of course, this is mostly speculative and these characters might be named simply to make the story less confusing, or for some other reason.
For the most part, the names the characters of Ragtime are given serve not only as personal identification, but also indications to the audience of what each character represents, the roles they occupy, and how those roles evolve.
Hi Aditi, This was a really cool analysis of how Doctorow gives names to his different characters. When we first were introduced to Coalhouse Walker and Sarah, I was a bit confused as to why they get distinct names - hence, I found your possible reasoning that they bring change into the family's life. I also found it interesting how you say that Mother is simply called Mother because she occupies that maternal role in different capacities - not just with her son, but with Coalhouse Walker and Sarah and their child. Great job on this post!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your analysis of the decision to keep the names of the fictional characters anonymous. I agree that Doctorow chose to write the characters in this way to generalize the experiences of these roles in America during this time period. I also found it interesting that Doctorow ended up giving names to Sarah, Coalhouse, and Conklin. I assume for Conklin, at least, Doctorow chose to give him a name because he doesn't have too much importance to the book, but I'm not so sure about Sarah and Coalhouse. I had a theory that by the end of the book, we'd receive the names of the characters that don't have names (SPOILER: we don't). Great job!
ReplyDeleteFascinating! I never realized the unnamed characters fit their title throughout the book despite any sort of transformation they undergo, while the named fictional characters have a more ambiguous development that wouldn't allow for any sort of title to be placed upon them. For example. Coalhouse Walker's changed drastically over time, so naming him "The Ragtime Musician" would not make much sense, as that is not a defining quality he possess closer to the end of the book, whereas, as you stated, Mother remains a mother for the duration the story, yet to who shifts during the development of the plot (her child, Sarah, Sarah's child).
ReplyDeleteFrom my perspective, I think Doctorow's use of vague character names is meant to draw less attention from characters like Mother and focus more on the themes and ideas they represent. For instance, Tateh represents the idea of an immigrant coming to America and finding there 'American dream'. Another example is mother who represents the idea of an 'independent woman'. In short, characters with bland names aren't insignificant, but rather they are used to portray various messages. I like your blog because it brings up the discussion of the ideas behind the names of the characters.
ReplyDeleteYour theory for why Sarah, Coalhouse, and Conklin are named in this story makes a lot of sense! I remember marking the first time Doctorow named Sarah because I was surprised and wondered what the meaning behind it was.
ReplyDeleteZainab's interpretation also seems correct for Coalhouse, but wouldn't it have been enough to call Conklin the Head of Police (placing ex- in front when he resigns) and Sarah as the Brown Baby's Mother?
I kind of wish all the characters except the historical figures were vague because it allows the situation to be translated anywhere in the US, but it was definitely an interesting stylistic choice for Doctorow to never name the characters! Great job on this blog post!
I think this was was a great analysis of the sort of types of characters and their leveling degrees of ambiguity in Ragtime. Mother, Father, Little Boy, and Younger Brother are all pretty vague characters that could really be anyone, but I like how you described the difference between that and the few characters that actually are named. Also I think that characters like Emma Goldman, Evelyn Nesbitt and Houdini are another category of their own as they are actual real historical people. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI agree that something that sets Ragtime apart from other books is the fact that its main characters are the ones without names while the side characters are the ones that get names. It's also interesting how Doctorow uses the real people in the story as sorts of puppets to convey his themes and move the story wherever he wants it moved. Great post!
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