Throughout Ragtime, Doctorow incorporates real-life historical events that interact with his fictional characters. However, when he shares these scenes, they are hidden from the rest of the world. Doctorow explores these historical figures' personalities while still maintaining the public image that we know of them in real life.
For example, take the Peary expedition. This expedition to the North Pole was a real thing that happened. In real life, Peary went to the North Pole with a group of people, including Matthew Henson. However, in the book, Doctorow includes Father as one of the men who joined the expedition. Obviously, Father was not part of that group (though one could think of him as a general character that could be any random dude, but that's a different topic), so in an attempt to keep the events appearing real, Doctorow kicks Father out of the actual trek to the North Pole. In the photo that they took at the supposed "pole," we only see silhouettes of the people who made the trek. Just saying, this moment would've been an optimal spot to include a fictional character (like Father) since we can't necessarily confirm anything about the real identities of those people.
Another time we notice this hidden fiction is with Evelyn. We see many scenes where she interacts with our fictional characters. For example, early on, we see Evelyn take a different path from the jail and she ends up finding Tateh and the little girl. She then continually meets up with them afterward. With these characters, we see Evelyn grow as a person. However, to the public, she is still a naïve celebrity with no deeper feelings. The public does not see this different side to her personality because whenever she goes to meet Tateh and the girl, she is not being followed around by the early 1900s version of the paparazzi, who are the ones that share Evelyn's life with the world. Thus, in real life, we wouldn't necessarily know whether Evelyn meeting this family was an actual occurrence.
We also watch Evelyn's interactions with Mother's Younger Brother, though let's not get super into that right now... Still, the example fits, as they secretly meet up and these meetings further progress the character's stories.
One other major time we notice this recurring theme is with Henry Ford and JP Morgan. They have their "secret meeting" that nobody knows about, where Morgan flaunts his wealth at Ford. Since the two men's meeting isn't recorded anywhere, Doctorow has the creative license to fabricate this interaction and not affect actual history.
I think it is interesting how Doctorow found this 'loophole' with writing fiction. He can explore the characters, fictional and historical, in a way that his story still could possibly have taken place in real life, but we'll never know for sure...
To me, "loopholes" are as interesting to write in as they are to find! In the scenarios you mention, Doctorow rehumanizes these historical people. Suddenly, we are thrown into a secret room with Morgan and Ford, and we can see Morgan trying to intimate Ford as he lounges back, chewing on straw. These interactions are vital to see how the historical figures might have interacted with people they might not have known before, and we can see how their personalities and ideals are shown. Thank you for writing this blogpost!
ReplyDeleteHi, I also found the way Doctorow adds in random events that would actually be impossible to find any record of into the novel not only because he can (perks of writing fiction) but also because his story is still going to stay real because we can't really disprove it either. This moves along the plot in a really cool way and allows Doctorow to make some of the points he's trying to get to the core of in the novel. He also brings out a lot of quirks in the personalities of the characters that you couldn't find in a history book or on Wikipedia. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteIt's both infuriating and cool that Doctorow writes these secret events into Ragtime. On one hand these events almost certainly didn't happen and even Doctorow knows it, but on the other hand they are cool hypotheticals to consider, so I guess I can give him a pass. It's also interesting how he keeps his own writing within the realm of possibility and things that aren't too far away from a believable event. Great post!
ReplyDeleteAll these “fictional” moments could be construed to be seen as part of our history. We don’t really know what happened or what didn’t. Doctorow purposefully finds these gaps in history and fills it with his own universe, altering our perception of general society and specific historical figures. Through these pockets in history, Doctorow shows us how characters change and how society changes. In this way, we get a deeper insight into the characters and maybe even what Doctorow views as a truer history. Interesting post, Vraj!
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