| Abstrakt: |
This study attempts to show how Doctorow's Ragtime draws a realistic and precise picture of a world entering the mechanical era and the consequential effects on the art and artists of the age. In such an era wherein everything is multiplied, reproduced, and publicized, the nature of art, artist, and audience are being modified as rapidly as the ethos of era. This study focuses mainly on four artists, who are among the novel's main characters, and draws on their diverse reactions to and decisions about reproduction. Some characters tend to be enthusiastic about these abrupt modifications and the subsequent publicity the modifications bring to art-hence they readily join this current. Meanwhile, some other characters resist the changes and crave for the traditional art and aura. And there are some who severely resist at first, but before long, they get melted in the pot of new culture and art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
