Discusses the “paradoxical” treatment of gender in The Waterworks, in which
women are “praiseworthy but silenced,” and uses that novel as a way to view
gender in Doctorow’s other works. In regard to Ragtime the characters Mother,
Emma Goldman, and Evelyn Nesbit are discussed.
Carol C. Harter and James R. Thompson, E. L. Doctorow (Boston: Twayne, 1990).
Useful synthesis of scholarly opinion on Doctorow’s works, with an annotated
bibliography and a chapter devoted to biography.
Paul Levine, E. L. Doctorow (London: Methuen, 1985).
Ninety-six-page critical discussion of the author’s works, with biographical
information.
William Matheson, “Doctorow’s Ragtime,” Explicator, 42 (1984): 21–22.
Extends the meaning of the title of the novel to include not only a style of music but
also a period in history marked by “rags”—that is, poverty and social inequities.
Christopher D. Morris, Models of Misrepresentation: On the Fiction of E. L. Doc-
torow ( Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1991).
For advanced students. Morris uses a poststructuralist approach to interpret
Doctorow’s fiction and nonfiction, with references to Jacques Derrida, J. Hillis
Miller, and Paul de Man.
Berndt Ostendorf, “The Musical World of Doctorow’s Ragtime,” American Quar-
terly, 43 (December 1991): 579–601.
Highly detailed discussion of the importance of African American musical
traditions in understanding the discussion of race in the novel.
John G. Parks, E. L. Doctorow, Literature and Life: American Writers (New York:
Continuum, 1991).
Excellent introduction to Doctorow’s novels that presents them in a positive
light. The first chapter provides a biographical overview.
Kathleen M. Puhr, “Postmodernism for High-School Students,” English Journal,
81 ( January 1992): 64–66.
Highlights the Postmodernist techniques used in Ragtime and compares it to
other well-known Postmodernist works. The essay is directed toward teachers
rather than students.
Leonard Quart and Barbara Quart, “Ragtime without a Melody,” Literature/Film
Quarterly, 10 (1982): 71–74.
Analysis of the film version of Ragtime that finds fault with its lack of overall
vision and purpose.
Joanna E. Rapf, “Volatile Forms: The Transgressive Energy of Ragtime as Novel
and Film,” Literature/Film Quarterly, 26 (1998): 16–22.
Analyzes the ways in which the film employs cinematic equivalents for the
narrative fragmentation of the novel.