Ragtime is set during one of the hugest immigration waves in American history: we'll bet you a box of glazed donuts (just so you know we're not messing around, because donuts) that you know someone that is descended from the people who arrived in America between 1900 and 1917.
Ragtime is as much about immigrants coming to America as it is about the folks like Henry Ford who despise them. Doctorow is good at detailing both the "American dream" that immigrants come looking for, and the harsh reality of the prejudice and poverty they face.
Questions About Foreignness and 'The Other'
- Why does Freud think America is a "huge mistake?"
- What do you think happens to Mameh after Tateh throws her out of the house for sleeping with her employer?
- What is the difference between attitudes towards immigrants in the novel and attitudes toward immigration in this day and age?
- Why is Father described as an alien in his own country?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Ragtime is a novel about the fact that the American Dream is just that… an unrealistic dream.
America is more of a quilt (like Doctorow describes it) than a melting pot.