Ragtime: The Title
Ragtime is made up of multiple different plot lines that all come together to tell the story of the early 20th century. From stories with fictional characters such as Coalhouse, Tateh, and Sarah to those with famous historical characters such as Harry Houdini, Emma Goldman, and Evelyn Nesbit, the plots weave together to create an intricate narrative of the societal structures and significant cultural events from the time period. So why is this novel titled Ragtime ? What does ragtime have to do with the events in this story? To start, what does ‘ragtime’ mean? Ragtime was a popular style of music characterized by syncopated beats that blend together to create a layered tune. It is also worth noting that the time period from 1895-1919 is commonly referred to as the Ragtime Era, which is when this novel takes place. Despite the vastly different plot lines in this book, the idea of ‘ragtime’ comes up in multiple different settings. So far, we have had three mentions of ragtime throu...