The result is a carefully constructed allegory that not only exposes those less-spoken-of facets of American history and culture from the early 1900’s, but cleverly reveals a critical dialogue about contemporary times and long-standing issues such as freedom, identity, and justice. Doctorow was putting the final touches on his fourth novel, Ragtime, which would later be identified within the greater context of his career as his “breakthrough book.” Like those works of Doctorow’s that came before it, Ragtime stretches the boundaries of genre, weaving historical references into a fictional framework. In the mid-1970’s, as the Vietnam War was coming to a close, E. Music, and more particularly its role in social reflection and reform, has always been an attractive draw for youth, and with your help, students should easily draw connections between the world of Ragtime and the world in which they are currently, powerfully engaged. While this guide helps to break the novel down, unveiling the architecture of the story, illuminating themes, and providing prompts for further discussion, ultimately all of the text in this guide is meant to emphasize this last, most extraordinary quality–to remind readers why classic literature is important and to illuminate the ways in which we still relate to it today. It is fast–but not too fast, as Scott Joplin warns–loaded with history: powerful, entertaining, confrontational, revealing, contemporary. Most extraordinarily, Doctorow has not only referenced ragtime music, he has gone so far as to channel it. Rather, it is about a critical time in our nation’s history (one that should be, for readers, quite reminiscent of our own time) and significant social and cultural issues– personal issues, Doctorow emphasizes–which were reflected in ragtime music years ago and which continue to be reflected in the musical forms that succeed it, as well as in literature, academic discussion, and perhaps most importantly, in domestic dialogue. Despite the title of the novel and the employment of a dynamic central character who is a ragtime piano player, Doctorow’s novel is not about ragtime music. Doctorow has chosen to tether his ship to what is considered by many to be the first truly American genre of music–ragtime–a particularly resilient musical form which achieved popular success in the early 1900’s and saw revivals in the 40’s, 50’s, 70’s and 90’s. But while Fitzgerald and the Beats were engaged in a dialogue about the music of their own time, in this novel E.
Scott Fitzgerald and the writers of the Beat Generation. This is apparent in the structure and rhythm of texts from Homer to Hemingway, and of course, in more literal explorations of the cultural impact of music, as in the works of F. The traditions of literature and music have long been intertwined.
RAGTIME BY E L DOCTOROW PDF
yet it implies all we could ask for in the way of texture, mood, character and despair." - Books of the Century, The New York Times, July 1975.Teachers: If you'd like a printable version of this guide, download the PDF attachment at the bottom of this page. It is cool, hard, controlled, utterly unsentimental, an art of sharp outlines and clipped phrases. It is an anti-nostalgic novel that incorporates our nostalgia about its subject. It incorporates the fictions and realities of the era of ragtime while it rags our fictions about it. ".(It) is in this excellent novel, whose silhouettes and rags not only make fiction out of history but also reveal the fictions out of which history is made. Doctorow has found a fresh way to orchestrate the themes of American innocence, energy, and inchoate ambition." - Newsweek.
History resonates with special clarity here. But beneath its peppy, bracing rhythms sound the neat, sad waltz of Gatsby and the tunes of betrayed promise. The grace and surface vivacity of Ragtime make it enormous fun to read. At times, the swift, short sentences suggest the pristine flicker of silent film at others, the sharp angles and sardonic deployment of detail in Citizen Kane. " Ragtime is as exhilarating as a deep breath of pure oxygen. " beautifully realized complex of social epiphanies, all watched over by the spirit of Scott Joplin." - Kirkus Reviews.
0 kommentar(er)
