Tateh\'s Journey in E.L. Doctorow\'s

Tateh's Journey

In E.L. Doctorow's novel "Ragtime," one of the main characters is "Tateh," a Jewish immigrant from Latvia who attempts to make a better life for himself and his daughter in America. Tateh is the essence of the American dream because he manages to build a successful business and even marry the upper-class character "Mother" by the end of the novel. He has successfully become a businessman and left poverty behind, and yet he has become disillusioned with America and the quest for the American dream.

Tateh's journey takes place at two different times. First there is his journey from New York to Massachusetts with his daughter. Because they do not have enough money to ride the trains, they ride trolley cars from city to city until they reach their destination. Doctorow notes, "Tateh did not know anything about the routes. He only planned to keep on going as far as each streetcar would take him" (Doctorow 76). This journey is important for Tateh because it is the start of his real new life when he becomes successful and creates a better life for his daughter and himself. However, the true journey Tateh makes in the book is one from poverty-stricken street artist to prosperous businessman.

Both these journeys change Tateh, and that is the point of his journey throughout the novel. Doctorow writes, "But his new existence thrilled him. He whole personality had turned outward and he had become a voluble and energetic man full of the future" (Doctorow 217). Eventually, he marries "Mother" and they move to California and live prosperously.