Ragtime portrays a world that is chock full of injustice. You want racist injustice? Look no further than the fire house's treatment of Coalhouse Walker. You want xenophobic injustice? There is the plight of the immigrants in their tenements. How about classist injustice? Check out the children who die because of malnourishment and disease.
Doctorow does not present the Gilded Age/Progressive Era as very forgiving… because it wasn't. Doctorow shows us an arbitrary world where people lived and died simply because of where they were from, or their class, or the color of their skin.
Questions About Injustice
- Is Coalhouse Walker too stubborn in his reaction to the vandalism of his car?
- Why do you think Doctorow doesn't let Coalhouse kill Chief Conklin?
- How are the wealthy people in the novel portrayed, in terms of justice towards the poor?
- What is the novel's attitude towards the working class and unions?
Chew on This
The most horrific injustice in Ragtime is that of the injustice towards children; Ragtime condemns child labor above all else.
Tateh sees injustice all around him, but rather than fight it, he learns to use his talents to rise above it.