The Declining Acceptance of Subtle Bigotry in Ragtime
Through Ragtime, characters with more conservative social views, such as Father and Henry Ford, begin to be repeatedly ignored or even rebuked by the other characters when they state their views. Doctorow creates an interesting pattern, depicting an evolving world where it is no longer seen as socially acceptable to be casually racist or anti-semitic. Doctorow describes Father and Ford, especially Father, as decent human beings. These characters offhandedly display their conservative social views, creating awkward situations throughout the book as other characters quietly express their disagreement with bigoted views. Father has entrenched a very conservative view of African-Americans in his mind: he thinks of them as fine people, but he expects them to be subordinate to Whites. Father’s view of Blacks is best manifested through his interactions with Coalhouse Walker Jr after Coalhouse begins to visit the family’s house to court Sarah. When Father is on the journey t...