Ragtime Foreignness and 'The Other' Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

He held up the flash pan and put his head under the hood and a picture exploded. After he left, the family, not daring to move, remained in the position in which they had been photographed. They waited for life to change. They waited for their transformation. (3.4)

Immigrants lacked confidence as they acclimated to their new country. This section is interesting because it shows Jacob Riis, who took up the cause of immigrants and their living conditions, photographing the families who have clearly never seen a camera before.

Quote #5

Please missus, the workingman said, married women, children, anyone they can get their hands on. They defile them and then in shame the female gives her life to vagrancy. Houses on this very street are used for this purpose. (7.2)

This was one of the risks of being an immigrant woman or child in the tenements. You could be kidnapped and sold. Or, as in Mameh's case, made to shame yourself and end up losing your family.

Quote #6

Haywood raised his hands for quiet. He spoke. His voice was magnificent. There is no foreigner here except the capitalists, he said. The place went wild. (16.4)

Big Bill Haywood was union organizer, and here we see the attraction of unions for immigrants. They wanted to belong, but at the same time not be exploited. The unions promised both, though it was hard to keep those promises.