When Younger Brother joins with Coalhouse his reasons for doing so aren't exactly clear. He becomes radicalized after talking to Emma Goldman but it seems like he kind of just attaches himself to Coalhouse's struggles without really understanding him. Doctorow makes it unclear whether he's actually committed to his cause or just falls in the archetype of the young white college student who doesn't really understand the movement but wants to be part of revolutionary action. It seems like part 4 of Ragtime somewhat answers that when Younger Brother goes and joins Emiliano Zapata in the Mexican revolution (Doctorow 305). Zapata was a southern populist leader who mostly cared about land redistribution, and he also had a role in the Mexican revolution though he never really got many of his reforms implemented (Wikipedia).
I think that Younger Brother leaving New York and joining Zapata is Doctorow implying that he kind of does fall into that category where he cares more about being a revolutionary than the actual cause. Coalhouse and Zapata have pretty much nothing in common and are in different countries, however Younger Brother still joins them. I think the main reason he chose the Zapatistas is just because he heard about in one of Emma Goldman's speeches, and since Coalhouse was done he needed something else to be a part of (Doctorow 168). I think it's also interesting how he tells Zapata pretty much the exact same thing he told Coalhouse about being able to make bombs, which also makes me think that part of it is that he just likes exploding things, so much so that he goes deaf (Doctorow 305). The other thing that I think is interesting is that Doctorow's irony seems pretty much gone when talking about Younger Brother at this point, which would imply that he's taking him more seriously because of his motives, or because he's getting involved in an actual historical event.
The other thing that I think is important about Younger Brother here is his level of commitment to the cause. While I do think Doctorow's trying to imply that he's not a real revolutionary, he is actually useful to them, just like with Coalhouse. It's also important that he went to Zapata specifically with his skills and didn't really help any of the other generals. He's so committed to the Zapatistas that he died for them (Doctorow 305). I also think the fact that this was a real event makes him seem more legitimate, since Doctorow is basically saying that he was an important enough revolutionary to have had an actual historical role. It's clear that he was committed to the Zapatistas, but it's not clear if that was because he wanted land redistribution or if it's just because Emma Goldman told him they were important.
Until reading this, I never really considered just *why* Doctorow wrote MYB to just suddenly drive away to Mexico and join the Zapatistas. It just felt random, and kinda rushed, like how I felt about the rest of the final chapter of Ragtime. I like that you brought up that during MYB's radicalization, the possibility of Emma Goldman talking about the Zapatistas is likely what spurred MYB to go down there in the first place, and I do feel like it kind of *is* accurate how MYB cares more about being seen as a revolutionary than aiding in the actual revolution. If he did, then maybe instead of saying "i make bomb" he *would've* given that impassioned speech about why he's joining Coalhouse's cause
ReplyDeleteI thought the sudden death of Younger Brother was quite interesting - he was treated as a mostly stupid and laughable character throughout but like you said he seems to be taken a lot more seriously at the end of the book. It's hard to tell whether Younger Brother is supposed to be a serious character overall or not, much like Father. Ultimately I think they have a mixture of both and aren't meant to be labeled one way or the other- father has times of laughable naivity and so does Younger Brother, but other times they partake in quite serious and impactful moments of history.
ReplyDeleteAs we neared the end of the novel, one of the threads I was most curious about was Mother's Younger Brother. Why did Doctorow seem to toss him aside by sending him on a nationwide journey, just to join a group of rebels and die in a mineshaft accident? It seems like he could've come up with a better way for him to die, at least. But maybe Doctorow was just using MYB as a vessel to deliver his one of his last points of the novel. It's as if he is exploring the complexity of revolutionary commitment: is it the cause that defines the revolutionary, or the act of rebellion itself?
ReplyDeleteI think that you make solid points about the lack of connection between Coalhouse's cause and the cause of the Zapatistas, and I can see the argument towards caring about revolution more than the issues. However, I think that MYB's lack of bombmaking for the Villistas, and his extensive demolition work for the Zapatistas makes it seem as if he does at least somewhat care about who he's revolutionizing for.
ReplyDeleteThis post relates a lot to our class discussion about the "white revolutionary" and whether we can trust them and their motives. It's always a question between they actually care about the cause or if they want to make themselves feel better by attaching themselves to a cause and make it feel like they're making a difference. I think MYB is definitely an interesting character because it's unclear for the readers at first what his motives are. I think it's important to note the scene with him coloring his face with the burnt cork. He takes on this "persona" to integrate himself in Coalhouse's group, but in the end, when Coalhouse is killed, he can so easily wash away this and exercise his white privilege to leave the scene without any repercussions. After all, he was the one who got the car in the end! However, MYB is the one who's most insistent on Coalhouse not turning himself in and he completely detaches himself from his family to fight for his justice. I think the inclusion of MYB joining the Zapatistas was interesting, however. I still wonder if he attaches himself to causes he truly cares about, or he floats around to any revolutionary in which he feels like he can make a difference? Really good post!
ReplyDeleteMYB's randomness is such a key feature of his character. He's so easily attached to anything and everything, evidence by his loony levels of commitment to Evelyn Nesbit, Coalhouse, and the revolutionaries at the end. Your claim that MYB sort of does things for the sake of doing them makes a lot of sense, since it's clear he's trying to find himself throughout the whole novel. Still, what a weird guy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Ben, that MYB seems disconnected from the causes he's involved in. If he were really invested in Coalhouse's cause, you feel like he'd want to pursue more cases of racial oppression in the future, right? Not change topic to a socialist movement in Mexico. However, I think Doctorow speaks of MYB less ironically by the end because his main conflict from the beginning of the novel was solved; by the end of Ragtim he found a "purpose", however disengenous it might be.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up really interesting points about the disconnection yet seemingly unwarranted commitment MYB has toward the two rebellions. I think another dimension to MYB's motives through all his activities is his yearning to find purpose in his life/construct an identity (more about this on Jane's post) and his reaction to his breakup with Evelyn. To focus on the latter, MYB engages in self-destructive activity after the breakup. At one point he contemplates suicide (don't recall the page number, but was about throwing himself onto a racing train?) and he begins to create bombs, later using them in Zapata's rebellion "recklessly" (305), until he turns deaf. Maybe he wanted to join rebellions that, partly under the influence of Emma, he deemed noble and simultaneously burn his life out in the process.
ReplyDeleteSince it was said the MYB knew he wouldn't be able to fully understand Coalhouses struggles and motivations, we can see that MYB has some self consiousness about his position in these revolutions. I think that in itself shows that MYB had some understanding of what these movements were fighting for in a weird roundabout way, since he could identify that his feelings may not be as strong. But as Khuyen said, we still have to take into account that he can very easily wash himself away from association with these movements due to being a white man. So I think his commitment wasn't just because of Emma Goldman, but it might not be very strong.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your point of view. Doctorow depicts MYB as a rebel without a cause, in my opinion. What I mean is that he's rebellious but might not actually agree with what is being fought for, he just really wants to be part of the action. I think his life in New Rochelle might have bored him and now he seeks pure thrills without thinking of the larger matters at hand.
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