The Brevity of Charles Victor Faust and Its Revelations of Doctorow’s Writing Intentions
Ragtime offers a wide variety of interesting characters, both fictitious and historical, each with their distinct personalities and characteristics, and their interactions are a central factor that make the novel uniquely entertaining. However, some characters receive more attention than others, the main characters notably receiving the majority of the spotlight, while others are briefly shone/introduced then neglected for the rest of the book. Charles Victor Faust is one of these minor characters, introduced into the story as a mascot of the Giants in a baseball game against the Boston Braves. His narrative, however, only lasts to the span of a few pages, his story abruptly ending with the description of a single paragraph, explaining how he was used as amusement by the team, was kicked out when they got bored of him, was sent to an insane asylum and died there (232). When I first read this portion of the book, my first reactions were of ho...