I was looking for blogging material in my notebook the other day, and something about January 13th's discussion caught my eye. It was our third day discussing Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow, and the class had come up with a list of characters, both fictional and historical, that we had encountered at that point. Of course, the list was long and there were a lot of interactions between the two groups. I noticed some similarities though between the fictional family members we had written up on the board. There's Father and Tateh (or 'father' in Yiddish), Mother and Mameh (Yiddish for 'mother'), the Little Boy in the sailor blouse and the Little Girl in the pinafore. Mother's Younger Brother is an outlier, but he's outside the realm of this blog post.
The fact that the names of these characters are so synonymous, and the reader only knows them by these titles, makes it seem like Doctorow is begging for a comparison. So let's try one. Because we know a lot about Tateh at this point, I think it would be easiest to compare him to his counterpart, Father. Simply analyzing their names, 'Father' sounds stiff and cold, while 'Tateh' is a much warmer, familiar term (think of 'papa,' or even 'dad'). The slight difference in the meaning of their names is reflected in their characters.
Father is an American who appears to have it all: a picturesque family and a fortune made from selling "patriotic accoutrements." He's an important businessman and he used to be the president of the New York Explorers Club. But underneath that, he's a man whose wife thinks their marriage "flourishes on Father's extended absences," who merely shakes his young son's hand before leaving on a many-month journey to the Arctic, and who never has music playing in the house. He expects deference from his wife and from African Americans (though these beliefs are probably held by most white men of the time). And while he may sometimes be out exploring the north, or watching a firework display, Father's life is fairly stable and kind of dull.
Tateh is the opposite. His situation is in constant turmoil: he immigrated from his native country to America, and has moved with his daughter from New York City to Lawrence, Massachusetts, to Philadelphia. Tateh is an artist and a socialist (he'd probably look at Father's wealth with disdain). While in New York, he lived on a day-to-day basis, barely making enough to survive through selling silhouette paper cuttings. And yet, in Tateh we see a warmth that we don't get from Father. His love for his daughter is evident in his protectiveness toward her (he literally ties her to him with a clothesline), but also in the way he makes the flip books for her ("he had a fever to create for her"). Tateh does more than shake his child's hand, he puts his arm around her on a streetcar and "gathers her in his arms" after the Lawrence strikes.
I could go on but I wonder now what ideas Doctorow intended to convey by including these differences. It seems as if Father represents some ideal image of America in the early 1900's, with his posh life sustained by the sales of American flags and fireworks. Tateh, an immigrant living in the Jewish slums, provides a completely different perspective of the nation at this time. Doctorow depicts Tateh much more favorably, and he does so without all of the irony that we sometimes get with Father. We could interpret Tateh's more sympathetic portrayal as an example of Doctorow undermining the traditional, patriotic values that Father seems to hold. Tateh is a much better dad in any case, but with all of the twists in Ragtime's plot line, I'm curious to see how the fates of these two fathers will play out.
This is an interesting comparison. I agree with you, Doctorow always seems to surprise us with his depictions of the upper class. Father seems to have such a nice life, with everything in order, while Tateh is struggling and always unsure of what's to come, but we see Tateh as having a better life, with more emotion and love. I wish Mameh were still in the story because Mother seems a lot less cold than Father and I think they would have some interesting similarities, especially considering the recent events that Mother has been in, like with Coalhouse Walker Jr.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that you wrote this post. I too thought that there would be some connection between the characters biased solely on the similarities of their names but I had never thought of the connection in the way that you had. I really like how you singled out Tateh and Father and discussed the numerous differences between the two. I think that you could continue on with the comparison by singling out Mameh and Mother and looking at the differences between those two. Both of them are trying to take care of the kids the best they can but it seemed as though Mameh failed early on while Mother seems to be doing a pretty good job. Good post!
ReplyDeleteIt makes a lot of sense that Father is treated with a good deal more of the typical Doctrow cynicism and irony than Tateh is. There is something about the New Rochelle family that is too sincere, too bought into the myths of the day, while Tateh displays a sort of disillusionment (his participation in the anarchist causes, his acknowledgement that the strikes won't change anything) that seem to also be on Doctrows 1970's mind. I feel as though Doctrow would have gotten along much better with Tateh than with Father.
ReplyDeleteI really hate to make so many analogies to the musical version, but this particular comparison is simply too good to pass by. In the beginning, the second major musical number shows Father's ship passing the immigrant ship Tateh is on and for a moment the two see each other. In this scene, Tateh is completely perplexed that Father would be leaving from America, the land of opportunity. The lyrics also offer a faint hint at his expedition being "just for fun", while Tateh is risking his life to come to America in faint hopes of just making it by. This echos exactly what you say about their 'complete-opposites' background and how they represent different early 20th-century American groups. I like how you brought this to discussion as we haven't exaclty looked at this, much less talked about it, in class.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that Tateh feels more warm and live than the Father. When I first started reading the book, I kept thinking about the Barenstain Bears and how their names are Father, Mother, Sister, and Brother. Just being called that definitely seems more fictional to me and from the top, even two-dimensional. Even the word Father, Mother, etc. usually brings up the stereotypical image of an American Family that lacks some depth or history behind it. However, I think Doctorow does a good job at making them come alive more.
ReplyDeleteNice post Iuls! :) I agree that Tateh and Father are very much like opposites and that Doctorow seems to favor Tateh over Father. As we get to know the family, they're "perfect" facade is being removed and many imperfections (specifically regarding Father's racist views and agitation regarding Mother's change in authority) are being brought to light by Doctorow. Yet, Tateh is still the same mostly sympathetic man. I wish we knew more about Mameh because it would be interesting to see how she compares with Mother. Also, just a thought, but maybe Mother's Younger Brother can be compared to Evelyn? They have interacted with each other (rather intimately), but have also had interactions with Emma Goldman.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting reading this now that we have finished the novel and the two character's lives actually have intersected. Tateh has risen out of his life of poverty into one of wealth, success, and happiness for him and his daughter. He seems to have the wealth that Father has had, but is doing a better job of "living his life to the fullest". Father's fate seems more reasonable considering his personality and actions throughout the book. Because he was always portrayed as this cold man who hardly appreciates his wife or son, his death in the end seemed appropriate. Further, Tateh's marriage with Mother's seems deserving considering now she is loved and treated with probably more than she ever was in her marriage with Father. Maybe by having these characters contrast so much in the beginning of the novel was in part a way of justifying the way the novel ended with bringing the families together.
ReplyDelete