Ragtime

In Rag-Time, Doctorow depicts America as a place of change.  Doctorow is very clear in stating the change in consumption of food in America.  And Doctorow attributes this “momentous change” to William Howard Taft, “who took office weighing three hundred and thirty-two pounds” (82).   In the book The President’s Cookbook the authors describe Taft saying, "Taft would have had to defer to several others when the title of Presidential gourmet was awarded, but there is no doubt he deserved the award as leading gourmand. Some of his ‘snacks’ have become legendary. On a visit to Savannah, he once breakfasted on grapefruit, potted partridge, broiled venison, grilled partridge, waffles with maple syrup and butter, hominy, hot rolls, bacon, and more venison...A typical Taft lunch might include bouillon, smelts with tartar sauce, lamb chops, Bermuda potatoes, green peas, and--for dessert-- raspberry jelly with whipped cream, salted almonds, bonbons, and coffee.” Doctorow says being stout and having a great appetite became a “sacrament of success” because of Taft’s eating habits. This description shows that Doctorow believed that Americans were followers and tried to imitate the ways of successful figures.  And who better to follow than the president who “expressed the apotheosis of that style of man” (83).  Men began eating and putting on weight to show success and manliness.  The irony was that Taft was on a diet and his wife was desperately trying to get him to lose weight, while the rest of America was trying to gain weight.  Doctorow ends his description of the change of food consumption in America by saying, “Fashion would go the other way and only poor people would be stout”(83).  Doctorow points out not only the change in food consumption but also the way that the lower class follows in the footsteps of the higher class by replicating their actions.  Or maybe he is pointing out the way the upper class is dissociating itself from the lower class and is pointing out the conflict between upper and lower class fashions.  Either way, Doctorow depicts an image of the American people changing to show fashion and class through the description of Taft and his appetite.

                                                                                      By Louis Cusano 

Labels: Change, obesity, Taft, Upper class/ Lower Class, Fashion

Bibliography:

1. Lewis L. Gould. "Taft, William Howard";

http://www.anb.org/articles/06/06-00642.html;

American National Biography Online Feb. 2000.

Access Date: Mon Apr 25 2011 17:03:10 GMT-0400 (EDT)

2."Taft, William Howard." Library of Congress. Prints and Photographs Division.American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE52&iPin=AHI0442&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 4, 2011).

3. Cannon, Poppy, and Patricia Brooks. The Presidents' Cookbook. New York: Funk & 
     Wagnalls, 1968. Print. (p.370-382)