The Analysis of the Extract from “ragtime”

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The story is written in simple language. The author uses common literary words so the text is easy to read. In the beginning of the story the author doesn’t call Coalhouse Walker by name, E. L. Doctorow writes just a pronoun “he”. That creates the feeling of alienation. While describing Coalhouse Walker’s first appearance the author uses retardation. He describes the less important part of the message such as “looking right and left as if trying to find a particular address; he turned the car around at the corner and came back. Pulling up before the boy, he idled his throttle and beckoned with a gloved hand.” The main part is at the end of the paragraph, so the reader is kept is suspense. Only after his description of his movements we know that he is looking for a young woman. The author also uses the repetition “always” while telling about Coalhouse Walker’s visits to underline his persistence. Coalhouse Walker’s great ability to play the piano is shown through the similes “small clear chords hung in the air like flowers. The melodies were like bouquets.” The metaphor “there seemed to be no other possibilities for life than those delineated by the music” underlines his skill. Epithets “thumping, robust, vigorous, intricate” prove that Coalhouse Walker plays that moment with great feeling and emotions.

After analyzing the text it becomes clear that the main idea of it is that people shouldn’t give up. Our life is full of unexpected events, it may abruptly change, and in any case, we should stay strong and brave. I think that Coalhouse Walker is a real hero of that time, he managed to become wealthy and prosperous pianist, even though he was a black man. Developing his skills turned to be much more significant in his life. Moreover, he didn’t give up trying to gain make Sarah’s attention and affection and to make her forgive him. One can hardly object to the fact that people like Coalhouse Walker deserve to be respected and even appear to be some kind of a role model for many people.

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