Ragtime

Doctorow uses the color white to symbolize power, idyllic America, and privilege. White clothing, cars, and accessories are often linked to the police, military, and upper class characters. White is found in the novel’s first chapter several times, cementing its importance and prominence as a symbol. In establishing the atmosphere of early 20th-century American life, Doctorow says: “Women were stouter then. They visited the fleet carrying white parasols. Everyone wore white in summer” (3). On the next page, Mother’s Younger Brother wears a white linen suit, and later in Chapter 1, Evelyn Nesbit wears white underclothes. Notably, all of these characters are white, upper class Americans with overwhelming privilege. They are ignorant of the United States’ xenophobia, racism, and sexism. As Doctorow points out in Chapter 1, to these members of American society, “[t]here were no Negroes. There were no immigrants” (4).

This description of upper class blindness follows several mentions of the color white. This symbol takes on a racial component, linking to the white supremacist ideology of early 20th-century America. The country is divided between the privileged, ignorant few and the many laborers who are routinely exploited.