Lusitania - Kelvin

In this midst of an ongoing war, the First World War, a battle for control of the waters was fought between Great Britain and Germany. The RMS Lusitania was a British passenger ship bound for Liverpool from New York and was the pride of the sea, having been dubbed "fastest and largest steamer now in the Atlantic service"¹. At this time, the United States was still neutral in terms of its participation in the war. The Germans, who were targeting British ships, had sent out a warning for American passengers not to travel onboard the Lusitania. However, the Lusitania’s reputation for its speed coupled with the fact that it was a passenger liner and not a military vessel reassured Americans that the Germans would not be able to harm the liner even if they broke the rules of engagement and attacked it. So the Lusitania, captained by William Turner, set out on May 1^st, 1915, to enjoy six days of calm voyaging. But on May 7^th, just south of Ireland, Captain Turner slowed down to navigate through a fog and a German U-boat attacked the ship, sinking it in a mere eighteen minutes and killing 1198 people. This breach of the codes honoring US neutrality pushed America to join the Allied sides against Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire two months later with cries of “Remember the Lusitania!”. But large ships like the Lusitania usually took hours to sink so why did she sink so rapidly? It was later discovered that the Lusitania was secretly transporting munitions and artillery from America to Britain. These weapons and explosives and were also responsible for the expedition of the Lusitania’s sinking were the underlying cause of the many deaths that resulted from the disaster. Doctorow’s Ragtime confirms this, stating that the ship was indeed “secretly carrying a manifest of volatile war matériel in her holds”(318). At the same time, Doctorow cleverly uses this event to tie into a twist in the plot: Younger Brother’s repayment of his debt to Father ironically causes his death since Father is responsible in transporting the very weapons that endangered the ship, the weapons that Younger Brother designed. Father’s death is metaphorically described as an “exploration”(318) to imply that his whole life, he was seeking an expedition that would change him, one that would truly be meaningful. Tragically, his final exploration brought him death, a kind appeasement he sought but would never live to enjoy.

By Kelvin Chang

Bibliography

· Ballard, Robert D., Rick Archbold, and PBS. "Lusitania." Lost Liners. PBS, 2011. Web. 11 May 2011.

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· Boyer, Paul S., et al. "War In Europe, 1914-1917." The Enduring Vision, Concise

Sixth Edition. Ed. P. J. Boardman and Megan Curry. 6th ed. Boston: Suzanne

Jeans, 2010. 513. Print.

· Kan, Vincent. "RMS Lusitania: The Fateful Voyage." First World War.com. Michael Duffy, 22 Aug.

2009. Web. 11 May 2011.

· Trueman, Chris. "The Lusitania." History Learning Site. Chris Trueman, 2011. Web. 11 May 2011.

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· Untergang der "Lusitania." 7 May 1915. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 4 Dec. 2008. Web. 12 May 2011.

17,_Untergang_der_%22Lusitania%22.jpg>.

¹ Trueman, Chris. "The Lusitania." History Learning Site. Chris Trueman, 2011. Web. 11 May 2011.

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