An Analysis Of E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime

E. L. Doctorow’s Ragtime was a very interesting historical fiction reading that showed the great wealth inequality that occurred between the rich and poor in New York City during the early 20th century. One interesting passage that I found shocking was how Jacob Riis made maps in the latter end of Chapter 3. I previously knew that Jacob Riis took pictures showing the horrific nature of tenements; a fact that is shown in the novel as well with Doctorow writing, “The tenements glowed like furnaces and the tenants had no water to drink. The sink at the bottom of the stairs was dry” and “The bedroom, although it had a window, was almost as dark as the front room. It looked out on an air shaft.” It is shown that the nature of living in the tenements