Misery and Art

In this post I want to touch on the fact that many characters are trapped in their own world of problems that are solved through the course of the book, and what art means to the roles of Tateh and Houdini in the novel.

Many characters start off with a whole lot of pressure and misery in Ragtime. As their narratives unfold we see a common predicament that persists in their lives, and it is cured in some way or another by the end of the novel. Mother has her problems with Father who is constantly unaware and parochial, but he is replaced by Tateh in the end. Coalhouse Walker struggles inside his world of wanted perfection regarding the state of his car and how that is significant to him, and although he ends up dead, he momentarily had his moment of relief when Conklin restored the car. There are more examples of these overarching tensions that exists in almost all the characters, and two characters that many draw parallels between and have this trait of tension are Tateh and Houdini. Tateh’s world starts off extremely glum as he has little to support his daughter with after his wife left them. But he ends up being the one of the happiest characters in the end due to a line of events related to his art work. Houdini also faces trouble when his mom passes away, and his dark emotional states pull him out of reality. Compared to Tateh, he does not end up as happy/self content as a result of his work, but rather uses it as a way to escape the plain sadness in his life (and the act itself is to perform various forms of escape).

The fact that these two characters share the common ground of being artists carries different meanings for each of them. Doctorow does not treat Houdini with that much respect in general, which can be seen in the way he surrounds Houdini with the characters and events that he does. In other words, in addition to his problem that his mother passed away, he is definitely often mocked. From the circus performers to the Archduke that didn’t know who he was, Doctorow doesn’t really allow the reader to take Houdini seriously, there might even bit an aspect for sympathy when reading his plot. Tateh’s life is much different in his relation to art. It is similar in the respect that it is very personal to him, but it differs in that he actually clearly achieves what he wants from it. In the end he is able to provide for his daughter from the job he receives due to his motion pictures, and it is this change in his life that ultimately lead him to Mother, which seems to seal the happiness in their lives. Furthermore, I do want to lend the suggestion that Doctorow could be also hinting at and symbolizing the rise and influence of technology, and how it is beginning to surpass all else. It is Tateh’s motion pictures that get him his recognition and success, whereas Houdini’s obscure act is never fully appreciated by all.