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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Tateh entertain The Girl at home?

2. What does Father see in his bathroom mirror after he returns?

3. On board the Roosevelt, how does Admiral Perry live?

4. What happened often when Freud was around Jung?

5. What does the author show between the characters of Evelyn and Tateh?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the Franklin Novelty Company do with Tateh's books?

2. What crime is Harry K. Shaw accused of committing?

3. What are Tateh's plans for him and The Girl as they leave New York?

4. Who are the famous psychologists who visit New York at this time and what is their reaction?

5. What sight as they sail out of New York Harbor depresses Father?

6. What does Tateh notice about The Girl on their train trip.

7. What does The boy see Mother do in the back garden?

8. What is Mother's concern about Younger Brother?

9. What does The Boy think bronze statues are?

10. What is it that Evelyn Nesbit does not understand when she sees The Girl tied to her father?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write your personal review of RAGTIME and make a recommendation for other readers. Write this paper as though you are a book reviewer for a large newspaper or national magazine. Be honest about what you liked or did not like about the book. [That it was required reading in class does not count as a reason to dislike the book.] Be specific when giving your reasons by quoting passages from the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Write about how Doctorow uses The Boy and The Girl to represent change in the novel. Perhaps because he is a young boy when the novel begins wearing sailor suits and grows into the beginnings of young manhood where he discovers girls, change is most noticeable in The Boy. When they meet in Atlantic City, neither of them recall looking eye-to-eye years ago on the street in New Rochelle. Tateh first becomes aware of The Girl's maturation on the train trip out of New York. Show how this growing up process works as a good benchmark for the passing of time in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper on the subject of art as seen in the novel. Take it from Tateh's silhouettes to Morgan's collection. Tateh's cutout silhouettes and movie books are art for the people. On the other hand, Morgans fabulous art collection are limited to the upper classes. Tateh's art leads him to film animation and making movies. Morgan's art is nearly destroyed in one quick action. Mother's association with art is limited to putting up Egyptian wallpaper. Your paper should discuss how art influences people and the value of art as an equalizer.

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