The Baron

Note: I haven't read past chapter 35, so if everything goes to hell in the next few chapters, keep that in mind while reading this post.

With that being said, I was so happy when it was revealed that the Baron Ashkenazy was Tateh. It was really surprising because everyone so far has had really shit luck. Evelyn (who isn't even in the novel anymore) seems to have lost her drive long ago. Houdini's mother died and he's dealing with an insane amount of grief. The family had to leave New Rochelle due to Coalhouse's terrorism as an aftermath of Sarah's death and Mother's Younger Brother, whose had a lot of bad luck throughout the novel, has left them to help Coalhouse (although they don't know about this at the moment). Basically a lot has happened. The last time we saw Tateh, he had sold his flipbook, so he was having a bit of good luck but I definitely didn't expect it to continue.

Part of the reason I find this to be so unexpected is because throughout the novel we've seen that Doctorow has had quite a negative view of the American Dream. In the beginning of the book, he spends a lot of time describing the living conditions of immigrants and the terrible opportunities they have. At one point, Doctorow writes that someone who is "born to extreme wealth" and is able to "multiply the family fortune till it is out of sight" is a true American hero. With all the depictions of Tateh's unsuccessful attempts at establishing himself in a union in Lawrence alongside J.P. Morgan and Ford's success, it's kind of nice to see Tateh is able to find a good job in film, especially since we've followed him around and seen.

On the other hand, I'm wondering if Tateh's great success is Doctorow's way of poking fun at the American Dream. I know Tateh is a fictional character but even then, his outcome is just so unrealistic. He just happens to be able to work with the Franklin Novelty Company and rise to the top after spending so much time struggling in the Lower East Side. It's great what happened to him, but it seems like the perfection of Tateh's story is to make the reader question the reality of the situation. After all, we're very aware of the conditions that other immigrants live in, and we know how different Tateh's life was before. Is Tateh's story another way for Doctorow to point out the unrealistic expectations of the American Dream? Is this Doctorow's way of making the reader realize the ridiculous chance of this scenario actually playing out? I want to believe that it's just Doctorow giving him and the little girl a happy ending, but I'm getting the feeling that there's more to the story. In any case, I really hope their luck continues.

Kim K.

 

Ok so this blog post is in fact not about Kim Kardashian West. For my first post of the semester, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts on Evelyn Nesbit. We talked about her a lot in class and I'm going to try to figure out what I think about her because at this point, I'm really not sure. She definitely reminded me of Kim Kardashian, though. A public figure who is viewed as a sex symbol and constantly scrutinized, even if she isn't even doing anything (similarly to Kim). Evelyn's "scandal" has made her quite famous and obviously alters the public's views of her (once again, think of Kim), and I think it's important that we view her story in this context. Her life isn't "normal" (whatever normal means), and I think she very badly needed to meet Tateh and little girl and get away from the limelight and be herself.

The way that Doctorow depicts Evelyn is so interesting to me. Everybody knows who she is and we often forget that famous people are still people. Doctorow seems to use this idea and gives Evelyn's character depth. We learn a lot about her and follow her on her trips to the Lower East Side, and I have to say that seeing an upper class woman who is often in the spotlight like this really makes me appreciate her as a character. Knowing what her life is like also makes me think that her excursions in the slums are ok. I don't think it's wrong for her to want an escape. Her life is hectic, and at least her escape is somewhat productive (at least in my eyes). She really does love being with Tateh and the little girl, and although she does want to give them charity, she truly cares about them, so I wouldn't say that she's being selfish and wanting only to fill a void in herself by doing so or rude by very clearly going against Tateh's wishes.

Although I see a lot of positive qualities in Evelyn, I can definitely see why some people think she's a creep. While I was reading I thought it was great that she wanted so badly to help Tateh and the little girl, but looking more closely at the book, it does seem really strange. I mean a lot of the scenarios in Doctorow's book seem strange, but I'll admit that thinking about this does kind of paint Evelyn as a stalker. We also mentioned that Evelyn's character, though frivolous on the surface, has depth and a political consciousness. But at the same time, it mentions that when she donates to charities, magazines, and other things that Emma Goldman introduced to her, but she feels no joy when doing this. I think it's nice that Evelyn is more aware, but her lack of passion sort of brings me back to the upper class persona that she shows the world, since she's essentially just throwing money around at these organizations and funds. Side note: I think it's really weird how she gets together with Younger Brother, especially considering how they met and looking forward to how she seemed to grow bored of him very quickly. 

I like Evelyn overall, but it does seem like as the story continues, her character becomes less interesting. In the earlier chapters where she is with Tateh and little girl, I really like her and I don't think she's as problematic as some people think she is, but as the story goes on, I think she loses her depth and goes back to being superficial. What are your thoughts on Evelyn?