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.
Well, since the posting of your blog, everything did 'go to hell'! You're definitely exploring a lot of the same ideas and thoughts that I came upon while I was reading _Ragtime_. On the surface, yeah, Tateh finally getting some success in life seems like a cool break from Doctorow's not-so-subtle way of pointing out that a lot of things are wrong with the American Dream. But you're right--first of all, Tateh is fictional, and it's very, VERY unlikely that such a thing would have happened to someone that was in a similar position. But I guess that's what this novel is basically about--exploring things that we historical know probably didn't happen, but could... in theory! It was a tough topic to grapple with, and I'm still thinking about it with the end of the book on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteI do feel like Tateh's ending is treated with a slight air of irony, but it's still fairly happy and optimistic. However, juxtaposed with the final words with Thaw walking in the Armistice parade, reminding the readers that the future isn't all great, the seeming perfect ending for Tateh and his family sours a bit.
ReplyDeleteI think that Doctrow is highlighting the individualism necessary for the American dream to come into effect. Tateh is unable to achieve the "American Dream" by fighting against the system. In other words, Doctrow is saying that in order to be successful in America, you have to buy into American ideals and values, which do not include Tateh's previous radical inclinations.
ReplyDeleteI've always felt a little distant/skeptical about Tateh's return as the Baron. I think part of it is the way that the Baron doesn't seem like the original Tateh anymore to me, as if he's been put into the skin of another person through his success. When we were introduced to Baron Ashkenazy as the energetic, black-haired film maker, I thought it was a totally new character; I didn't realize until Doctorow dropped the bomb, and then suddenly I could see all the hints (his daughter, film making, his name etc.). At the top, I agree with you that the outcome just seems very unrealistic, and Doctorow likely isn't just depicting the American dream in a straight fashion.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Tateh does seem like a different person from the Baron. It's nice that he has confidence and more life now, but maybe another point Doctorow is trying to make is that he's changed now. The money has transformed him into a different person, and though we're happy for him, he's definitely not the same man.
DeleteDiscovering that Tateh was the Baron made me so happy, after seeing him struggle for so long it was great to see that he finally got a break. However, I agree that Doctorow is definitely poking fun of the American dream with this. It's really ironic that by succeeding in the American Dream he became a European Baron (at least by name). Tateh is both no longer nominally American and has become part of a nobility system, where the concept of moving up in society is completely foreign.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jack that there is some irony in Tateh's choice of name for his reinvented American identity--not only in its pretense to European nobility (but in a pretty vague way--most Americans probably have no idea where a baron "ranks", and yet the word has this mysterious/exotic aura to it), but in its nod to Tateh's Jewish identity ("Ashkenazy"), when the more typical self-renaming in America was done to occlude Jewish (or otherwise "foreign-sounding") heritage.
ReplyDeleteBut the Baron, in the novel, doesn't actually trade on this presumed identity--we don't get the sense that his "baronship" gets him to any particular privilege in America. It's more an ironic joke on the system of nobility and titles itself (a very premodern hierarchical model of society), when a random guy can just lay claim to a title like "baron" and get away with using it--it doesn't refer to any history or lineage, it's just a word, but through this word he creates a new identity for himself.
As for the "implausibility" of his narrative arc, it is an anomaly in this novel, where "success" is typically undermined with irony. But his rags-to-riches storyline is of a piece with many other such stories of American self-reinvention from humble origins--Ford being one prominent example from the novel itself, but popular culture and history afford us a whole bunch of similar examples.