Ragtime Themes

An enduring belief in the American Dream—the idea that anyone who works hard can succeed—animates many of the characters in Ragtime. It’s this vision of freedom and potential success that draws immigrants like Mameh, Tateh, Little Girl, Emma Goldman, and the family of Harry Houdini to America. And the book does highlight several more—and sometimes less—astonishing success stories. Henry Ford, born a Michigan farm boy, becomes one of the…

The world in which Father, Mother, Little Boy, and the other characters of Ragtime live is one in which technological advances have brought stability that would have been unimaginable to older generations. Trains that run on regular schedules ferry people across and between cities. The predictable demand for patriotic paraphernalia makes Father a wealthy man. And phonographs and moving picture shows mean it’s possible to witness the same event or listen to…

The opening chapters of Ragtime take place against the so-called crime of the 20th century—Harry K. Thaw’s murder of famous architect Stanford White. Thaw enjoys celebrity treatment in jail not only because he is rich but because his wife, Evelyn Nesbit, was already famous before this crime committed in her name. Ragtime is stuffed with historical celebrities including escape artist Harry Houdini, famous little person Lavinia Warren Thumb, socialite…

Ragtime follows parts of the lives of Mother, Emma Goldman, Evelyn Nesbit, and Mameh at a moment in which American culture was on the cusp of massive changes. Their stories foreshadow the social consciousness and expanding roles women would experience throughout the 20th century. In the beginning, Mother occupies a limited, traditional female role. She acquiesces to sex with Father without considering her own desire—in fact, Father finds the very idea of…

The events in Ragtime occupy a specific and clearly delineated moment at the turn of the 20th century. It was an era of great technological change and social reform in America, but also a time where gender, class, wealth, and racial inequities were particularly stark. This comes through in the book in a number of ways. Harry K. Thaw’s and Stanford White’s wealth, for example, offers them protection against the consequences of their…