POST: Share a thought about Doctorow's Ragtime

I really enjoyed how Doctorow incorporated real-life characters into his novel. I found it interesting to compare how these people acted in real-life compared to the way they were in the novel. This also made it easier to get into the novel because he did not have to spend a couple of pages giving us background about each of these characters.

I really liked how all the stories had a message to offer and described how the times were changing. Like how the poor became rich, how the immigrants were integrated, how the white middle class became more tolerant, how the rich became more compassionate, and how time just keeps moving on. The usage of names like “father” and “brother” really put the whole story into a perspective that you could view society as a whole.

I thought it was interesting how Doctorow decided to leave many of his fictional characters unnamed and how, despite not even giving them a real name, he managed to give them depth. I like how this left the characters open to the interpretation of the reader, allowing them to try and connect these characters with characters from other novels as well as real people of the time and often being able to see how little difference there is between them.

Doctorow uses an amazing writing style, his uses of metaphores are amazing as well, such as ticker tape. Nothing more appropriate than that with the stock market crash in that era.

At first I really didn't like the book because it jumped around so much. As I continued to read I felt that the story wouldn't have worked if it didn't jump so much. The story was a fun read, I enjoyed how crazy everything got.

The fact that Ragtime is somewhat historically based made me a bit nervous. I guess I am guilty of judging a book by its cover, but once I started reading the first few pages, I was completely shocked. Doctorow’s writing style is far from boring! I really enjoyed how he was able to combine characters of different race and class, but somehow could make the story run smoothly throughout the novel. Doctorow was able to express the emotions and lifestyles of every character and really portrayed how life was during this period in time. I enjoyed it!

The thing that i liked best about the novel was all the allegorical figures. For example how Coalhouse Walker was more then just a angry African American man fighting for what he believed in, he represented the race relations during the time period he lived in. Also how Father was a representation of traditional men of the late 19th century America. He struggled with the change of the progressive era like many of the men in early 19th century. I enjoyed how Doctorow portrays his characters to reflect more than just the typical female and male expectations of the time period.

AMAZiNG. THe book in my opinion was just as good as the movie. It's very different from what I'm used to reading. The whole involving fictional events to real events in history was a little weird to me but after some adjusting, I thought it was a pretty sophisticated tie- in.

i didn't enjoy this novel as much as the others; however what i did find interesting was the use of Coalhouse, Tateh and Father as allegorical characters and how they all accurately reflected the twentieth century. I also like in the novel how E.L. Doctorow incorporated Emma Goldman in his story. I seemed to enjoy the story of Tateh and his little girl most, but I found it interesting how well the three stories soon blended together.

I found the way Doctrow tied actual events from the 1900's into a story that involved a fictional family. This book also offered views from all different classes and races in New York in the 1900's. It gave a view point of what was going on in that time from all different types of people which helped you know everything that was going on.

i really enjoyed Doctorow's approach to that time period. It was wonderful to see the reality of what is was like to live during those times and how class and race effected one's everyday life. I also loved how through all thier differences they all had one common goal and that was to break free of struggle. It made no difference what race, age, or class they were in, each charcter was struggling for something and they were ultimalty fighting until success. It was also creative how Doctorow used each character to build upon another, the reader watched as each character grew in one way or another by their continual interactions.

I really enjoyed how a bunch of different stories were blended into one. It was extremely courageous to see how coalhouse defended the rights of his fiance till the very end of the novel. I also loved the film version. It is such a colorful novel and kind of like a little history lesson at the same time.

-Drew

I liked it alot. His style was very easy to follow and made the novel very, very easy to read. I especially like his historic fictional characters.

I was impressed by Doctorow's style in Ragtime. As opposed to Flaubert, Doctorow doesnt throw in countless details which can be distracting at times. He is short and concise which makes for a much easier read. I was also impressed by his ability to tell each character's story, each seeming complete and have them all weave together perfectly.

I actually really liked Ragtime. It was an extremely good representation of life in that time era, factoring in race and social class. I wasnt expecting to like the novel only because of my strong dislike for history novels, but i was pleasantly surprised. The novel was good, and the movie was great.

Although each chapter has a different key concept to it, i found this book to be pretty easy to read. I loved the dynamics of the characters, especially Coalhouse Walker and Mother. Doctorow's style of writing really made these two characters seem very powerful and in control of the actions they would take to accomplish their goals.

The book itself was a easy enough to read and it hit on many key topics, but what I liked most about it was how the author blended fact with fiction by including real life characters alongside his own fictional ones.