The analysis of Henry Ford's Model T creation scene is ambiguous, but the case can be made that Doctrow is criticizing modernism and a single-minded pursuit of progress as dehumanizing of the workers. While there is a certain air of reverence, Ford is portrayed as slightly cold, and the reader is left with a feeling of unease at the joy taken from reducing human beings to parts of a machine.
Naturally, critique of Fordism has ramifications for Tateh, who in the previous chapter, strikes it big with the novelty store, agreeing to sell his flipbooks. In class, we discussed Tateh having "sold out"; his artwork being corrupted by his new contract for the "mass production" of a total of four flipbooks, all of which will still be handmade. After all, the happiness of his daughter is much purer a purpose for art than the acquisition of money.
Even though his newly earned money would be used to provide for his daughter. Even though, I image, the Little Girl would rather eat than hold a monopoly on her father's flipbooks. In fact, the argument that, somehow, Tateh is corrupting his artwork by making money off of it is slightly reminiscent of the superficial glorification of destitution that we see in the poverty balls of New York's high society. Which, by the way, Doctrow clearly hated, judging by the scathing irony that he treated them with. I don't blame Tateh for "selling out" on this very minute scale. It doesn't corrupt his art, and the assumption that it's purer when he was poor -- the beauty of the starving artist -- is kind of patronizing.
Now, another layer of his joining the ranks of American entrepreneurship is that he abandons his radical political associations: "Tateh began to conceive of his life as separate from the fate of the working class" (131). If any part of his actions have been "selling out," it would be this. However, if we assume that Tateh's driving life's purpose has been to care for his daughter -- and we have no evidence that would challenge that assumption --, then he really wasn't selling out from what really mattered to him at all.
A not directly related point, but an interesting one: it seems that along with Tateh, Doctrow has abandoned the radical leftist political philosophy that is slightly implicit in his portrayals of the slums. As Iulianna noted in her most recent blog post, Doctrow treats Tateh and his situation with a lot more sincerity than he treats the situation in New Rochelle, suggesting a sort of alignment with the slums.
I agree that Tateh shouldn't be looked down upon for slightly changing his job description to make a better life for his daughter. I thought it was pretty good of him to set aside his pride in the socialist big picture long enough to consider that maybe when he suffers for his cause, he's inadvertently making his daughter suffer for his cause, as well. Which is inconsiderate -- something Doctorow definitely hasn't been trying to portray Tateh as. I'm glad you brought up the starving artist image, too. It reminds me of the people who insist that digital art is cheating, and that the only way to make "real," traditional art is to suffer through, I don't know, charcoal dust up your nose? The horrible temptation to drink neon pink paint water? I mean, it really shouldn't matter that digital art might take less time, and that files can be copied. It's just a different way of operating and if it feeds your family more efficiently, then I can't see what's wrong with it on a practical level.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you! I don't really see how we can consider four flip books as Tateh selling out. It's great that he cares so much about his daughter, and he's taking this opportunity to provide for her. I admire his resolution, he found a way to use his art to help his daughter. Like Sarah said, he set aside some of his socialist ideas so that he and his daughter could afford food, and I think that's pretty important. I really like Tateh as a character, I find his storyline to be the most interesting. Maybe he is "selling out" a little bit, but he has good intentions, and I think that's all that matters.
ReplyDeleteBut yet don't the poverty balls have "good intentions" as well? I think Doctorow is going for more than just saying that all that matters is good intentions.
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ReplyDeleteI think one away to understand Tateh's decision, ignoring the fact that it made him money and that's always nice, is that he simply went with the flow of the culture. After the strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts he realizes how futile his efforts to prevent the complete domination of capitalism were, and he decides that the only way to survive in the system is become part of it. As they say (at least I think they do), the safest place to swim is directly behind the shark. This concept is driven home even further at the end of the book, when Coalhouse, the formerly wealthy man who stood up to the American system, ends up dead, whereas Tateh, the formerly poor socialist, is now a successful capitalist.
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