Aldo's Tales from Uni English

     Ishmael Reed makes many comments on cultural appropriation all throughout Mumbo Jumbo , specifically on the theft, commercialization, or bastardization of Black culture at the hands of White people. Examples of this theme include the Mu'tafikah, a group of Robin Hood-esque thieves who have made it their goal to reclaim the artifacts of largely Black civilizations which currently rest in various "Centers of Art Detention" (15) across New York City; Hinckle Von Vampton's blackface Talking Android designed to destroy Jes Grew by presenting a massively oversimplified and offensive version of it to the world; and even Charlotte, a former member of the Mumbo Jumbo Kathedral who left to entertain rich White people on the stage with a bastardized, commercialized version of "the Work." Later in the story, PaPa LaBas and other members of the Kathedral crash the party where the Talking Android is being "revealed" with the intent to arrest von Vampton and...

     In E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime , the motif of "escape" appears in many places and in many ways throughout the story. In fact, one of the most central ideas the book repeatedly explores - the near-omnipresent optimism in the "American Dream" at the dawn of the 20th century - closely relates to this central motif. At the core of that belief was the thought that anyone could succeed, regardless of their social status or any other characteristics, hence, "escaping" from societal constraints. The stories of almost all characters in Ragtime relate to this motif of escape too, whether they do so literally (like Houdini,) figuratively, or through a mix of both. Several characters' lives also include elements of the American Dream as well, moving up from situations where it sometimes seemed like the odds were completely stacked against them to become extremely successful and wealthy people (except for J.P. Morgan, of course, who is so disgustingly rich th...