In literature‚ one character can impact the entire story and all of its characters. Such is the case with Coalhouse Walker Jr. in E.L. Doctrow’s Ragtime. His characterization provides insight into race relations in turn-of-the-century America. Many characters react strongly to his mannerisms‚ as they believe his social standing does not allow for such behavior. Because Coalhouse conducts himself with a sense of pride unusual of African Americans at this point in history‚ his view of how he should
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Ragtime E. L. Doctorow CHARACTERS Mother: Mother is part of the upper class family living in New Rochelle. Disappointed by her marriage to Father‚ she marries Tateh after Father’s death. She often feels guilt over her treatment of her brother. Throughout the novel she experiences many changes through her care for the child of Coalhouse and Sarah‚ as well as her newfound awareness of her sexuality. Father: Father owns a company that manufactures fireworks and other accessories of patriotism such
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In the novel «Ragtime» by E.L. Doctorow the scene is laid in New York city. The given extract introduces the story of a professional musician Coalhouse Walker who wants to give back Sarah`s affection. The story begins with the mention of the arrival of the Negro man in New York where one white family lives. After that the author gives a brief description of a black man who comes to see his beloved and points out that for Mother he doesn’t act as other Negroes do. Further on Doctorow digresses from
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TOPIC The Magic of Music (the Storyline of Sara and Coalhouse Walker) TOPIC The Phenomenon of Ragtime Everyone knows the word ’music’. We repeat it almost daily in this or that context. But are there many people who can give a clear definition of this term on the spot?. If you ask 10 different people‚ you will get 10 different answers. In general‚ music is regarded as an art form that involves organized sounds and silence. It is expressed in terms of pitch (melody and harmony)‚ rhythm
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RAGTIME By E.L.Doctorow This extract is taken from the novel “Ragtime” by the American writer E.L.Doctorow and is centred on a black jazz pianist‚ Coalhouse Walker Jr. The text contains a detailed narration of the way Coalhouse Walker Jr. Made his appearance at a certain house in which a white family lived. We are given neither the names of the family‚ nor their ages‚ nor any other details. The author calls them Mother‚ Father‚ Grandfather‚ Mother’s Younger Brother and the boy‚ but they do
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Алёшкина (АЯ-41(2)) The analysis of the extract from “Ragtime” (by E.L. Doctorow) “Ragtime” is an E.L. Doctorow’s novel that was published in 1975 and later won the National Book Critics Circle Award. E.L Doctorow himself is a famous American writer who is widely known for his unique works of historical fiction. The novel itself belongs to the epic kind of literature. It’s a contemporary realistic novel because it depicts actual events of the beginning of the 20th century taking place in the
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Ragtime by Maria Sevostyanova EG-42 “Ragtime” is a novel about the American life at the beginning of the 20th century. This book was written by the American writer Edgar Laurence Doktorow in 1975. This story tells us about Coalhouse Walker Jr.‚ a black pianist‚ who leaves his pregnant girlfriend Sarah to make a career. Sarah tries to kill her baby but a family of honest and kind people takes her into their house to take care of her and her baby. The extract taken for the analysis
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The author of the novel “Ragtime” is rather popular American writer Edgar Lawrence Doctorow who was born in the Bronx‚ New York City. He was the son of second-generation Americans of Russian Jewish descent. He published his first literary effort‚ The Beetle‚ in the school literary magazine‚ Dynamo. Young Edgar described his masterpiece as “a tale of etymological self-defamation inspired by my reading of Kafka”. During all his life he was send to the military service‚ than had a wife and 3 children
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Sex in Ragtime Throughout the novel‚ there are instances of both violent and more refined sexual references. While an obvious reason for these is the titillating effects of them‚ there are deeper‚ more relevant reasons for them. There are three main groups within which the sexual activity takes place: Father and Mother‚ Younger Brother and Evelyn Nesbit‚ and Harry Houdini and Harry K. Thaw. Some are more obvious and explicit than others‚ but they all have great purpose. The sexual activity between
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Ragtime‚ a work of historical fiction that is mainly set in New York City from about 1900 until the United States entry into World War I in 1917. It is a novel with many impactful themes. Major themes include: the theme of accepting change‚ and dealing with the instability of life. But one of the most universal themes in the novel is also the most applicable‚ the theme of escape. To best analyze the theme of escape in the novel‚ we must look at each character on an in-depth level. First‚ we Mother
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