Monday, January 30, 2012
Tateh and Capitalism
Tateh's story in a lot of ways is the perfect picture of the American Dream (ignoring the fact that he's not technically American). Tateh starts out in extreme poverty and through his own creative genius and skill he is able to make a fortune and pull himself out of the slums life. He is able to make the capitalist system work for him whereas before he was toiling under it and rebelling against it., though I wouldn't call him a capitalist. Despite Tateh's newly acclaimed affluence, I don't believe he has changed his opinions. Tateh merely realized that though the socialist ideals were valuable and something he still believed in, he realized that they were simply that: ideals. He did the sensible and responsible thing, considering he had a young daughter to support and protect, and left the socialist strike. It wasn't as though Tateh denounced socialism and made a conscious decision to become a capitalist, he just left to find something else that would make his life better since the socialist movement hadn't gotten him anything thus far. I feel as though Tateh would treat people working under him well and give them adequate pay since he was once in their position, and that's what really separates him from actual capitalists. (I do think it's an interesting note that its not until Tateh leaves the socialist movement for good that he makes it big with his art; it makes me wonder if Doctorow sees any value in socialism or movements of the sort).
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2 comments:
In what sense is Tateh "not technically American"? Are you asking to see his green card? He's a legal immigrant to the country, and though we don't specifically know his current citizenship status, he's as "American" as any of the others. In fact, I'd say a big part of Doctorow's point is to present this story as a "typically American" drama of self-reinvention and creativity. He certainly is "not technically" a Baron, but that doesn't matter in the USA--he can grab whatever Old World title he wants and make it his own. Some would say that this is a beautiful thing.
I agree with you on everything in this post! Tateh may have started out as a socialist yet he recognized that trying to implement those ideals at the time would not yield an results. So, with the responsibility to protect and provide for his daughter, he has to make the best of a situation. He decides to adapt and it benefits him. You are absolutely correct in pointing out that while he may have adapted to the capitalist society, for all we know, he could still have those same socialist ideals. Well done!
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