The Coming of Age of Mother's Younger Brother?
As we took a deep dive into Ragtime, Mother's Younger Brother emerges as one of the most dynamic yet troubled characters in the story. Being faced with the struggles of identity and change. Initially, he is a young man living at his sister's house. drifting through life without direction or purpose. He has an obsession with Evelyn Nesbit, letting all his decisions be directed towards her. "Mother's Younger Brother was in love with Evelyn Nesbit. He has closely followed the scandal surrounding her name and had begun to reason that the death of her lover, Stanford White, and the imprisonment of her husband, Harry K. Thaw," (Chapter 8). Revealing to us his immaturity and inability to distinguish a real human connection from shallow desire. One of the reasons he falls downhill is after his situation with Evelyn Nessbit fails. Endowing him with thoughts of suicide after placing his whole life purpose in obsessing over her. "The young man was in mourning," "He wanted to pack his heart with gunpowder and blow it up"(chapter 14).
As the story progresses, Mother's Younger Brother begins to channel his frustrations into political and social causes, making a key step in personal growth. The accident with Coalhouse infuriated him; he found the injustice of Sarah enraging, and he felt a sense of belonging and purpose in fighting alongside Coalhouse. For the first time, he becomes part of something larger than himself, which he even spoke up against his brother-in-law for his conservatism and lack of support for Coalhouse and his old traditional mindset. He was always drawn to revolutionary movements as a way for him to claim meaning in his heart. Through these movements, he learns discipline, conviction, and the power of solidarity. By the end, he reinvents himself as a revolutionary, joining radical movements in Mexico and Cuba, leaving his old life of depression and the obsession with Evelyn behind. Though life comes with a cost, we see him fully transformed, taking bold action in pursuit of his newfound purpose.
Works Cited
Doctorow, E. L. Ragtime. Random House, 1975.
Hi Jessy, I really enjoyed your blog post analyzing how Mother's Younger Brother changed throughout the book. I think an interesting point you mention is when he joins Coalhouses gang. The injustice he feels is real, I would assume - but it is also interesting because the injustice does not necessary apply to him. He even remarks that, upon seeing the car, his sense of fury is miniscule in comparison to Coalhouse's. Though his self awareness is admirable, I really think that he kind of unintentionally mocks Coalhouse when he joins his cause. Coalhouse is fighting against white racial prejudice - while using someone who openly does blackface. I think that Mother's Younger Brother, by joining the group, adds another layer of complexity and a slight bit of irony to Coalhouse's fight.
ReplyDeleteHi Jessy, I always thought of Mother's Younger Brother as an interesting character. He constantly seems like he's trying to find some kind of cause to fight for or to obsess over. He needs something to give him validation. Sadly, I don't think he ever really found a way to live just for himself and instead he dove into radical revolutionary ideology. I wonder if he found the fulfillment he was always looking for throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy hearing people's perspectives on Mother's Younger Brother because he's a really hard character to fully grasp. I completely agree that his support of Coalhouse's violence comes from his feelings of belonging. I noticed in the book that he and Sarah really understood each other, and through this care he built for her, he felt personally offended by the destruction of her fiance's car. I also think that this is a much more impactful way for him to channel his obsessive energy.
ReplyDeleteHello Jessy, to me Mother's Younger Brother is the most interesting character in the book. We once had a discussion arguing whether Mother's Younger Brother is a follower in Coalhouses story and I think with the conclusion of the story, we can say no, he just likes to blow things up. With his pollical action in Mexico and the 'gift' he gave father it shows how he grew as a person beyond himself.
ReplyDeleteThere's definitely some irony (of course!) in MYB's "coming of age" as a revolutionary, as it leads to a very short "career," and an anonymous and unheralded death south of the Mexican border. So if "coming of age" entails integration into one's society, MYB can be said to take an alternate path: he completely and permanently cuts ALL ties to his family, leaving Father with a ringing condemnation of his entire way of life and doing business at the end, and he permanently cuts all ties to the United States when he travels to Mexico and is "integrated" into the revolutionary community, once again because he "knows how to blow things up." And yet he DOES seem to "find himself" when he dives into revolutionary politics--"He awoke every morning in a state of solemn joy." His characteristic "restlessness" is resolved, and he does seem to find meaning in his attachment to the Coalhouse and the Zapatista causes.
ReplyDeleteHey Big Jessy, To me, tied with Coalhouse Walker, I consider Mothers Younger Brother to be one of the most interesting characters of the book, the way that we get to see him grow from being a men cooped up in his room, being obsessed with Evelyn Nesbit to fulfilling what I believe to be a foreshadowing on Doctorow's part by becoming a revolutionary in Mexico has always been quite interesting for me. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteNice job Jessy. I like many others like MYB in the book, and I couldn't agree more with the fact that he only feels whole when he is working on something bigger than himself, but I wonder if MYB is so insecure about not being a part of a challenge, and this is also what sways him to join these radical orginazations?
ReplyDeleteHey Jessy! I really like this read. I think you did a great in showing MYB transformed his obsession into revolutionary action. What stood out to me most in your analysis is how his fixation on Evelyn Nesbit reflects his immaturity and lack of identity early on. It shows early signs of his need for purpose.
ReplyDeleteJessy, mother's younger brother was definitely a character that stood out to me as well. His arc of trying to find a purpose and fixating on the issues of those around him tells a common tale of young people searching for direction. You make a lot of good points about how he grew over the course of the novel.
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ReplyDeleteI appreciate the interpretation that Mother's Younger Brother grew as a character, however I'm not sure if I fully agree. What do you think differentiates Mother's Younger Brother's shallow desires for Evelyn Nesbit and his pursuit of justice? Is it the value of the cause?
ReplyDeleteHi Jessy, I agree heavily with your interpretation of Mother's Younger Brother. Throughout the story, his progress and transformation are definitely difficult to grasp, and I feel you did a nice job identifying his "why". Overall, nice job diving deeper into the true meaning and why of Mothers Younger Brother.
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