The Prison Scene
Our class discussions of Ragtime have explicated lots of Doctorow’s satire and irony. Most of the time, I’ve left with a satisfying idea of what’s going on and what the author intended. I cannot say this for the scene where the two Harrys meet. Harry Thaw’s penis-flapping was the most baffling thing I’ve ever encountered in an assigned book. I’ve spent hours wondering what it means to no avail. The idea of “asserting dominance” has become a big joke recently, and the jokes often feature some form of exposing yourself to “assert dominance” over others. Jokes like these initially turned me away from the idea that Harry Thaw was showing his power to Houdini, but unfortunately this is the best idea I’ve heard so far. Harry Houdini was raised poor and worked hard developing his craft to attain fame and fortune. Alongside his literal escapes are his attempt...