E. L. Doctorow Biography
E. L. Doctorow refused to let anyone tell him to keep his mouth shut. The author grew up in a lively Jewish household where vigorous discussion was encouraged. He has said of his childhood that it was “a lower middle-class environment of generally enlightened socialist sensibility.” These early experiences helped shape Doctorow’s novels, which are a blend of social criticism and history. Well-educated, holding degrees from both Kenyon College and Columbia University, Doctorow did not focus on writing until some time after college. His job as a script reader at Columbia Pictures gave him a unique perspective on how to write structure that he later perfected in his own novels, particularly in his most famous book, Ragtime.
Facts and Trivia
- Doctorow once worked at the reservations desk at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.
- Doctorow’s novel Big as Life (1966) is a science fiction story that was trounced by critics. Doctorow eventually removed the novel from print.
- Doctorow studied playwright Heinrich Von Kleist’s work while at Columbia and based his protagonist in Ragtime after a hero in one of Kleist’s books.
- In its first year in print, Ragtime sold 200,000 hardcover copies and made a total of $2 million in paperback sales.
- Doctorow’s The Book of Daniel, his first commercial success, was based on the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. His outrage at their execution fueled his writing of the novel.
Biography
E.L. Doctorow stands out as one of the most influential novelists who began publishing in the 1960s. His work is celebrated for blending historical fact with fiction in innovative ways, often commenting on significant political events of the 20th century. A philosophy major from Kenyon College, Doctorow's writing delves into how humans perceive and interpret reality.
Early Life and Influences
Born Edgar Lawrence Doctorow in the Bronx, where his novel World's Fair takes place, Doctorow utilized elements from his family life as narrative material. Although not strictly autobiographical, his works often draw from personal experiences, much like how he uses historical and literary conventions to craft unique narratives. Aside from his career as a novelist, Doctorow worked as an editor for major publishing houses, editing authors like Norman Mailer, and taught at institutions such as Sarah Lawrence College and New York University. His writing reflects a blend of pedagogical insight and an elegant sense of style.
Unconventional Approaches
Doctorow's debut novel, Welcome to Hard Times, reimagines the Western genre. With experience in scriptwriting, Doctorow was unimpressed by many Westerns and aimed to write an absurd alternative to conventional tales like the film High Noon, where Gary Cooper plays a lone marshal defending a town. Doctorow proposed that the historical American West was more chaotic than the Hollywood myth, challenging the perception that order was easily restored. Through his narratives, he persistently critiques the discord between America's myths and its actual history.
Exploring Political Themes
Following Big as Life, a satirical science-fiction piece Doctorow himself deemed unsuccessful, he published The Book of Daniel. This novel draws inspiration from the real-life case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, executed for espionage in 1953. Narrated by their son, the story follows his quest for self-understanding amid the backdrop of parental political abandonment. Here, politics mirror familial divisions, merging private and public spheres, exemplified by the narrative's oscillation between intimate first-person and detached third-person perspectives. Unlike John Dos Passos, who distinguished history and fiction in his U.S.A. trilogy, Doctorow blended them into a singular voice, suggesting that history is indivisible from personal perception.
The Subversive Nature of History
Ragtime advanced Doctorow's exploration of history as a construct of imagination. By weaving historical figures like Freud, J.P. Morgan, and Emma Goldman into his narrative, Doctorow questions the distinction between historical and fictional characters. The novel's convincing portrayal led readers to ponder its factual accuracy, highlighting its subversive nature by equating history with myth.
Personal and Historical Intertwined
Similar to The Book of Daniel, Ragtime centers around a family, this time a young boy witnessing major societal changes at the turn of the century. From the rise of cinema to political upheaval led by radicals like Emma Goldman, the boy views these transformations through a naive lens. The character of Coalhouse Walker, a dignified African American man facing racial injustice, embodies the era's tensions, demanding recognition of human rights through assertive, sometimes violent, actions.
Experimentation and Exploration
Doctorow's play Drinks Before Dinner features a protagonist grappling with identity and contemplating apocalyptic violence. Loon Lake explores varying perspectives, transitioning between a wealthy estate and a poor man's journey across 1930s America, interlaced with poetic passages. Despite these efforts, it did not achieve the historical-fictional fusion seen in Ragtime.
Continuing Inquiries into Culture
In works like Lives of the Poets and World's Fair, Doctorow delves into cultural and political history. The former, a collection of stories about literary creation, and the latter, a narrative inspired by Doctorow's childhood and the 1939-1940 World’s Fair, reflect his fascination with material culture. World's Fair earned...
(This entire section contains 751 words.)
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the National Book Award, whileBilly Bathgate received the PEN/Faulkner Award.
American Psyche and Myth
Doctorow adeptly illustrates how American entertainments, like world fairs and Disneyland trips depicted in The Book of Daniel, symbolize the nation's propensity to mythologize history. His narrative in World's Fair triumphantly intertwines personal and societal celebrations, recapturing the synthesis of history and fiction that defined Ragtime's success.
Revisiting Themes in Later Works
With Billy Bathgate, Doctorow revisits themes from Loon Lake with greater efficacy, intertwining fiction and historical elements as the protagonist navigates the criminal underworld of Dutch Schultz. His collection, Jack London, Hemingway, and the Constitution: Selected Essays, 1977-1992, offers insights into literature and politics. The Waterworks, while continuing Doctorow’s fascination with New York's history, diverges into darker, more pessimistic themes reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe. Although City of God was not as well-received, its ambitious narrative tackled complex themes of religion, faith, and historical trauma.
Criticism by E. L. Doctorow
