Both Emma and Evelyn embody the transformations occurring in American society that Doctorow depicts in his novel. Emma represents the radical transformation of women from objects of sexual lust to empowered individuals, while Evelyn represents the continued stereotyping of women by American culture. In her apartment, Emma symbolically removes Evelyn's restrictive clothing, garments that serve as symbols of women's oppression and of their being controlled by the desires of

They are sympathetic to Walker because of their fondness for Sarah, a young Black washerwoman who is Coalhouse's lover. The iconic WASP family is called only by their family identities, because unlike Walker and the Jewish Tateh, they do not need to make a name for themselves -- their place in the world is secure. But even with the help of a prominent family, no one will take a

She is just one symbol in the novel that represents how the American family would change during this time, and would never be the same. Impressionable young men like Younger Brother would take up radical causes, Father's would fail to move forward in their lives, and Mother's would begin to vocally fight against societal wrongs, including poverty and women's rights. America was in transition, the family was in transition,

individuals have struggle accepting change. It takes quite some time for one to adapt to this. For regions of a country or even whole nations, change may take decades or possibly centuries. Edgar Lawrence Doctorow can certainly relate to this Born in 1931, Doctorow (aptly named after EL Poe) has lived through tumultuous changes and grew to see America converging from one of exclusive races and racism into one that

Blues and Ragtime: Paving the Way for Jazz Blues and ragtime helped to pave the way for jazz, one of America's truly unique music genres. Originating in the South, these genres were inspired by the African backgrounds of slaves coupled with the oppression that freed men and women faced after their emancipation. New Orleans became a musical hotbed during the jazz era. It was also during the development and popularization of

127) The ultimate test of interchangeable parts in a factory system are if the ideas can 'make it' in the marketplace of commerce. The ultimate test of what is really beneficial to workers or society is subsumed to the need to make a profit. 7.It occurred to Father one day that.... he was a Negro (p.134) Despite the fact that identity might seem like something one is given at birth, the ways that