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Grandfather
Stanford White is a historical character whose salacious murder occupies the public attention at the beginning of the book. He was a famed and wealthy New York architect who designed many private residences and important civic buildings. He was also a notorious playboy who began an affair with Evelyn Nesbit when she was just 15 (and decades younger than White). Harry K. Thaw murdered White in June of 1906, ostensibly because Thaw had learned about White’s history with Nesbit.
Stanford White Quotes in Ragtime
The Ragtime quotes below are all either spoken by Stanford White or refer to Stanford White . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
The prisoner was sitting at a table laid with linen and service. On the table were the remains of a large meal. An empty bottle of champagne was stuck upside down in a cooler. The iron cot was covered with a quilted spread and throw pillows. A Regency armoire stood against the stone wall. The ceiling fixture had been ornamented with a Tiffany lampshade. Houdini could not help staring. The prisoner’s cell glowed like a stage in the perpetual dusk of the cavernous prison. The prisoner stood up and waved, a stately gesture, and his wide mouth offered the trace of a smile.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
Millions of men were out of work. Those fortunate enough to have jobs were dared to form unions. Courts enjoined them, police busted their heads, their leaders were jailed and new men took their jobs. A union was an affront to God. The laboring man would be protected and cared for not by the labor agitators, said one wealthy man, but by the Christian men to whom God in his infinite wisdom had given the control of the property interests of this country. If all else failed the troops were called out. […] In the coal fields a miner made a dollar sixty a day if he could dig three tons. He lived in the company’s shacks and bought his food from the company stores. On the tobacco farms Negroes stripped tobacco leaves thirteen hours a day and earned six cents an hour, man, woman, or child.
Get the entire Ragtime LitChart as a printable PDF.
Stanford White Quotes in Ragtime
The Ragtime quotes below are all either spoken by Stanford White or refer to Stanford White . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
The prisoner was sitting at a table laid with linen and service. On the table were the remains of a large meal. An empty bottle of champagne was stuck upside down in a cooler. The iron cot was covered with a quilted spread and throw pillows. A Regency armoire stood against the stone wall. The ceiling fixture had been ornamented with a Tiffany lampshade. Houdini could not help staring. The prisoner’s cell glowed like a stage in the perpetual dusk of the cavernous prison. The prisoner stood up and waved, a stately gesture, and his wide mouth offered the trace of a smile.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
Millions of men were out of work. Those fortunate enough to have jobs were dared to form unions. Courts enjoined them, police busted their heads, their leaders were jailed and new men took their jobs. A union was an affront to God. The laboring man would be protected and cared for not by the labor agitators, said one wealthy man, but by the Christian men to whom God in his infinite wisdom had given the control of the property interests of this country. If all else failed the troops were called out. […] In the coal fields a miner made a dollar sixty a day if he could dig three tons. He lived in the company’s shacks and bought his food from the company stores. On the tobacco farms Negroes stripped tobacco leaves thirteen hours a day and earned six cents an hour, man, woman, or child.
