Ragtime Analysis: Captivity and Fake Freedom
For my first blog post, I will be writing about captivity, a theme present in the lives of many characters in Ragtime. This does not necessarily mean actual incarceration, but rather being constricted by a certain idea, location, or societal norm. This post will compare and contrast three different characters, and their different experiences with this theme. The first character I will be discussing is Harry Houdini. Obviously, there is the argument of physical imprisonment as his entire public persona is that of an escape artist, but that is not what I am referring to. In reality, the reason I am writing about him is his emotional struggles, and how they prevent him from performing or focusing on anything else in his life. Originally, this is set off by his mothers death. He is consumed by it, unable to do or think about anything else. He turns to spiritualism, which even he acknowledges as false, to hear her last words, and even attends a seance dressed as a...