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Chapter 38
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ragtime, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The American Dream
Replication and Transformation
Freedom, Human Dignity, and Justice
The Cult of Celebrity
Women’s Roles
Social Inequities
Summary
Analysis
By 8:00 a.m., a truck has brought the necessary tools and parts to fix the car and the authorities force a humiliated Willie Conklin to repair the Model T, overseen by two qualified mechanics. It takes all day.
By the time Conklin finishes repairing the car, almost every piece of it has been replaced. This raises the question of whether it’s the same car or an entirely new one. And, in either case, it suggests the scale of social changes necessary to bring about a world where everyone has the same freedom, access to justice, and recognition of their human dignity.
Themes
While Conklin works on the Model T, the various members of Coalhouse’s band beg him to reconsider Whitman’s offer. He knows they will be lost without him, but he won’t change his mind. Nor does he care to watch Conklin at work on the car.
Coalhouse doesn’t care about the car because he’s already made it clear he intends to lose his life in this quest. But his withdrawal also points toward the open question of what, if anything, his quest for vengeance has actually achieved for him or the Black community he’s come to represent.
Themes
Father was nearly overcome with shock when he first walked in the library door the previous day and saw Younger Brother. Now, he confronts his brother-in-law, demanding that he explain himself for Mother’s benefit. Younger Brother refuses to explain himself to Father, whose life and attitude he sees a symptomatic of the rot that pervades society. The only message he sends to Mother is to say that he’s always loved and admired her.
The rift between Father and Younger Brother becomes absolute in the library. Father thinks of Younger Brother as abandoning the family, but the book has made it clear that it’s actually Father who is out of step with the others. Mother isn’t a perfect example of acceptance, but she’s clearly shown her respect for Coalhouse’s and Sarah’s human dignity from the start.
Themes
Coalhouse’s band gathers in the entrance hall in their matching outfits. Coalhouse explains how to start and drive the Model T. He instructs them to call on the telephone when they’ve escaped. He embraces all of them, including Younger Brother, and sees them out the door—keeping Father as his hostage. After all, he jokes, all white people look the same, and people will think Younger Brother is Father. After they’ve gone, Coalhouse asks Father to tell him about the baby.
Yet again, Coalhouse’s small group sets the example to emulate when it comes to equality, acceptance, and community. In the face of an uncaring society, they’ve taken care of each other, and their lives have been enriched by it. Coalhouse’s ironic joke about all people looking the same points back to the baseball game, where Father displayed an exquisite sensitivity to differences between the kinds of white people he considers his equals and his inferiors. Whiteness confers some advantages even to immigrants and laborers. But until everyone in society is treated equally, everyone will be trapped to some degree or other.
Themes
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