Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow provides insight into the 20th century. A reader can get a sense of the atmosphere straight from the name of the novel, which means “a popular music style at the beginning of the century.” The author presents us many personalities in which the reader can identify with. An interesting aspect of many characters is different reactions on the death of their loved ones. For some, going through the time of sorrow is easy. For others, it is difficult. Moreover, with a naked eye, an attentive reader can notice major allegories of the protagonists. Another major theme of the novel is the justice issue in America after 50 years abolition of slavery, which is presented through the character of Coalhouse Walker. The first strong identity change is easy to notice in Houdini’s character. Houdini is a magician and an escape artist who always wanted to be put on an unbelievable performance for his viewers with new and crazy tricks. However, after the death of his mother, he lost himself. The old woman had fallen ill while Houdini was in Europe. In fairness, everyone will lose themselves after a loss of a loved one, especially a mother. Fortunately, the author gives us this example in the text, comparing the behavior of Houdini, Coalwalker, and even Evelyn Nesbyt. Houdini’s reaction was strong; this death turns his world upside down, and behavior respectively. From the funny magician, he transformed into a depressive psycho who tried to find ways to reconnect with his dead mother. Before the death, “He had always been skeptical of occultists and the spiritual claims of clairvoyants and mediums” (Doctorow 74). After death, he lost his touch with reality and tried to connect with spiritual beings. This is a simple example of how major changes in the life of a person can affect their behavior and actions. Evelyn Nesbit, who was a symbol of sex and beauty at the turn of the century, reacted in a whole different way. When her ex-husband Stanford White, a famous architect, was killed by her current husband Harry K. Thaw. Despite being an ex-lover, Evelyn believed that she truly loved him. She had two main problems in her life. One of them was that her ex-husband is dead. Another problem was her current lover is in jail and she does not know what is worst in this unpleasant situation. When many misfortunate events happen in our lives at the same time, it is really important to not go insane, as Houdini did. Evelyn demonstrated the reaction of a strong woman. She put her emotions on background and tried to find any ways to get her Harry K. Thaw out of a jail. The last example is the situation with Mother. We cannot clearly find out her reaction to the death of Father when the British passenger liner “Lusitania" was torpedoed by a U-boat. According to the story, their relationship with one another was not the best. Their private life was dull—Father cheated on Mother, and she in turn did not have strong feelings for him anymore. The only information that the author gives us about Mother’s reaction to his death is “Mother wore black for 2 years” (Doctorow 117). Though Mother did not love Father much when he was alive, she still respects and mourns him after his death. Perhaps, she just wanted to make a right public opinion. While reading the novel we notice that E. L. Doctorow tries to show allegories in the identity of almost every character. One of them was Father, a man who lost himself in time. He was stuck in the past, and could not adapt to the new era rules. This is why Father was nostalgic during the Giants baseball game. The man remembered the baseball games at Harvard twenty years before. He could not understand why immigrants were playing this All-American game. He believed in the perfectibility of the republic. He had always thought of himself as a progressive (Doctorow 82-83). All of these examples represent Father as lost in the modern world. He could not move with the times, at least mentally. Perhaps, for this reason, he was interested in exploring and then became the New York Explorers Club president. He wanted to relive the past by exploring the Arctic Pole or finding new historical sites. As we know, “time traveling” for Father ended tragically. The next character who exemplified an allegory in the book is Tateh, also known as the Baron Ashkenazy. He represents the idea of the American Dream for immigrants who came to the US for a new life. Baron is a Jewish socialist who moved from Latvia to New York. Similar to the majority of US immigrant, he came to the New World for the American Dream, to live a new and improved life. An immigrant’s struggles are detailed in another reading, “America and I” by Anzia Yezierska. Her character was faced with a poor life as an immigrant who just came to the USA trying to survive in the ragtime. Only after living his own experience he understands the reality of the American Dream. He understands that only working hard is not enough, especially after winning the strike which meant only "a few more pennies in wages" (Doctorow 48). It is more important to think cleverly and strategically. It is better to follow the thing that makes you happy rather than something that makes you rich. This is exactly what the Baron did. Despite his frustration, we can determine Tateh is a perfect example of an American Immigrant. At the end of the story, he lives the life that every immigrant could dream about. He has a wife that really loved to be with him, daughter, step-son, and an adopted girl. Also, he has a job that he really likes where he earns good money. If you are able to adapt to a new environment quickly you will live more of a joyous life. Unfortunately, not every character was lucky enough to understand how the world works as Tateh did. Coalhouse Walker Jr., who was the most attractive person in the novel, has a change in character throughout the story and his actions force readers to feel a lot of different emotions. At the beginning he is annoying, and later on, you start to respect him for his justice actions. After Sarah’s death you sympathize with him, and at the end of the story, you just feel disappointed. From Coalhouse’s perspective, we can assume that he thought he lost everything. Similar to a typical hero of an action movie he began to destroy everything in his path. Why would he do it? It is possible that he wanted to find justice for himself in this world. Justice was a core aspect of this character, he believed that justice should always be carried out. Willie Conklin unjustly confiscated Coalhouse’s car and as a result, Coalhouse became a wild animal. He began to act irrationally and murdered firefighters. The situation clearly describes in 4-8 lines of “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes (Let America be / Let it be / Where never kings / That any man). Coalhouse Walker wanted revenge and justice for himself and everybody. However, if we look at the situation objectively we can assume that Coalhouse’s actions were illegal. No one is above the law. Killing innocent people and holding of hostages is not justifiable and morally wrong. This is why every situation should be analyzed meaningfully. If he did not let his emotions get the best of him, he would have remembered his littlest daughter, who lost her mother by accident. Without him, she will be orphaned. He disregarded his daughter’s well-being and acted selfishly. Considering all of this evidence, the actions of Coalhouse and his group cannot be justified in any way. There are many different ways to deal with problems, and one must find a way to cope without hurting others. Sadly, Coalhouse Walker Jr. did not. In conclusion, after the death of a loved one people tend to change drastically in attempts to deal with the pain and suffering. It is a tough time in life for any person. Everyone reacts differently to the loss of the people closest to them. Even though Coalhouse Walker was strong he made many mistakes. It is important to reflect on what occurred and approach things rationally. E.L. Doctorow used allegories to show that the American Dream is not entirely realistic. Additionally, in the second allegory example, Father could not adapt to the new way of life in America. These different storylines showed the readers various real-life situations and the consequences that may result from good or bad decisions