He tries working in a factory, where he experiences a successful workers' strike, but becomes disillusioned when he sees it change little about the workers' lives, although in the final chapter he still describes himself as a socialist. Tateh is a talented artist and earns a living cutting out novelty paper silhouettes on the street. When Tateh learns Nesbit's identity, however, he takes his daughter out of the city. The girl's beauty attracts the attention of Evelyn Nesbit, who provides financial support.
Interwoven with this story is a depiction of life in the tenement slums of New York city, focused on an Eastern European immigrant referred to as Tateh, who struggles to support himself and his daughter after driving her mother off for accepting money for sex with her employer. Coalhouse is then shot as he surrenders to the authorities. Coalhouse agrees to exchange Conklin's life for safe passage for his men, who leave in his restored Model T. Father is drawn into the escalating conflict as a mediator, as is Booker T. Coalhouse and his gang storm the Morgan Library, taking the priceless collection hostage and wiring the building with dynamite. With a group of angry young men, all of whom refer to themselves as "Coalhouse Walker", Coalhouse continues his vigilante campaign and is joined by Younger Brother, who brings his knowledge of explosives. Mother unofficially adopts Sarah and Coalhouse's neglected child over Father's objections, putting strain on their marriage. Having exhausted legal resources, Coalhouse begins killing firemen and bombing firehouses to force the city to meet his demands: that his Model T be restored to its original condition and Conklin be turned over to him for justice. Sarah is killed in an attempt to aid him, and Coalhouse uses the money he was saving for their wedding to pay for an extravagant funeral. He begins a pursuit of redress by legal action but discovers he cannot hope to win because of the inherent prejudice of the system. Things go well until he is humiliated by a racist fire crew, led by Will Conklin, who vandalize his Model T Ford.
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A professional musician, well-dressed and well-spoken, he gains the family's respect and overcomes their prejudice initially by playing ragtime music on their piano.
Coalhouse Walker, the child's father, visits regularly to win Sarah's affections. Into this insecure setup comes an abandoned black child, then his severely depressed mother, Sarah. He becomes obsessed with the notorious socialite Evelyn Nesbit, stalking her and embarking on a brief, unsatisfactory affair with her. Mother's Younger Brother is a genius at explosives and fireworks but is an insecure, unhappy character who chases after love and excitement. Father joins Robert Peary's expedition to the North Pole, and his return sees a change in his relationship with his wife, who has experienced independence in his absence. The family business is the manufacture of flags and fireworks, an easy source of wealth due to the national enthusiasm for patriotic displays.
The novel centers on a wealthy family living in New Rochelle, New York, referred to as Father, Mother, Mother's Younger Brother, Grandfather, and 'the little boy', Father and Mother's young son. TIME included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Ragtime number 86 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. It is a work of historical fiction mainly set in the New York City area from 1902 until 1912.
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