History of Fiction

          One thing that really interested me was Kevin’s role in Kindred . It’s easy to see that his main role is being Dana’s protector, not only when he takes a trip to the past with her, but also when she comes back home, often injured. At first, I thought this would be Kevin’s only role, which would have been somewhat boring and expected from a partner. However, I’m glad that Butler included Kevin in Dana’s time traveling and even left him there for a few years, as it added a twist to the story when Dana thought she’d lost him. Kevin has an unusual role when the Weylins are around. To start, he has to say that Dana belongs to him, even though Rufus, Nigel, and eventually more people know that they’re married. He also provides Dana with protection and many excuses and prevents her from being owned by the Weylins. Later on, He (technically the idea of him) is used by Rufus to manipulate Dana, such as when he wants her to help him get with Alice. It was d...

  After reading Ragtime, Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo seemed vastly different from the stories of Houdini, Coalhouse Walker, Tateh, and Mother and Father. So, when reading through Chapter 13, I thought it would be easy to talk about the similarities between Thor Wintergreen and Mother’s Younger Brother in a blog post. After all, Thor is the only white person in a group of minorities, and MYB is the only white person in Coalhouse Walker’s gang of African Americans. Additionally, both of their gangs are committing crimes with good intentions. However, after reading further, I realized that there were many clear distinctions between Thor and MYB.  To start, it’s clear that Thor’s group looks down on him far more than MYB’s group. This is not only because Thor is white, but he’s also the son of a well-known tycoon, so Yellow Jack and Jose Fuentes believe that he has ulterior motives. In contrast, MYB’s family isn’t famous, and he is quickly integrated into the community. After Yello...

Ragtime is filled with various characters and perspectives, ranging from Tateh living in the slums to J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford at the top of society. Each perspective is entertaining in their own way, some more than others. The frequent switching of perspectives is also fascinating, as it allows the author to intertwine the storylines and use literary devices and elements in a unique way. For example, Doctorow seems to introduce unnecessary characters disguised as main characters.           First of all, it’s difficult to tell which storyline was the “main one”, if there even is one. In my opinion, Coalhouse Walker’s was the main one, but Morgan’s adventure and Mother’s life with Tateh were also notable. The stories overlapping, evolving, and splitting further complicate the question. The main characters obviously depend on the dominant story, so certain characters may be more or less useful depending on which story seems more important. For example, al...

  After Father returns to New Rochelle from the trip to the Arctic, he comes home to some quite drastic changes. Not only does he notice changes in the other family members (most notably the little boy), he notices changes in the business, himself, and the dynamic between him and the rest of the family. He feels alone and disconnected, and it also seems like he’s disappointed that everything seems to be doing better than ever without him. The first thing that father notices when he arrives home is his wife with a new baby and a new guest in the house. From this detail alone, we can tell that it’s evident that he’s been gone for a long time, as there have been new additions to the household that he was unaware of. Not only is he unfamiliar to the new additions, but the family and the house as well. One thing that he specifically points out is his son’s new desk, which was “befitted [to] all young students” (Doctorow). He goes on to say that the boy seems taller and smarter and has o...