Harry Houdini is “an escapologist”(97), and in Ragtime, he performs many amazing feats such as escaping from a prison cell. Houdini represents the exploratory heart of America. At the turn of the 19th century, America was expanding throughout the world; issuing the Roosevelt Corollary, fighting a war in the Philippines, taking over construction of the Panama Canal, and intervening in the Boxer Rebellion in China. This imperialistic attitude in America perfectly mirrors Houdini’s mindset. Harry Houdini, originally named Ehrich Weisz, was a performer who always longed for something new, and enjoyed testing his limits. An example of his competitive and curious nature is the purchase of his Voisin. The Voisin was a “beautiful biplane with boxed wings, a box rudder and three delicately strutted bicycle wheels”(101). Because Doctorow decides to use a synecdoche in describing the Voisin, he stresses the complexity of such a machine and points out the importance of Houdini’s purchase. Although Houdini spent $5,000 on the airplane, he didn’t stay with it for long. After mastering the art of flight, Houdini set the record as the first person to fly a plane in Australia. And then never flew a plane again. This incident demonstrates just how progressive Harry Houdini was, and why he was so successful at what he did. Similar to Houdini’s experimentations and innovations, America moved from being isolationist to having a hand in most world affairs with passion to excel and the drive to fix mistakes.
By Peter Gilson
Brandon, Ruth. The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini. New York: Random House Inc., 1993. Print.
Silverman, Kenneth. Houdini!!!: The Career of Ehrich Weiss. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996. Print.
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