Mexican Revolution

Younger Brother held a peculiar intrigue since the reader’s first introduction to the eccentric man. Initially, he is quite and reserved, and enamored by the sex goddess, Evelyn Nesbit. Towards the end of Ragtime however, the reader sees Younger Brother stand up against Father, thoughts only previously recited in his solitude; “You are a complacent man with no thought of history… The fact that you think of yourself as a gentleman in all your dealings, is the simple self-delusion of all those who oppress humanity… You have traveled everywhere and learned nothing”(E. L. Doctorow, 296-7). Father and Younger Brother clearly have different morals, and while Father’s was dominant in the house, Younger Brother found refuge for his ideas in Coalhouse’s quest for justice. Younger Brother began to spend a lot of time at work, exercising, and planning. To the rest of the family, it was unusual to see him so motivated, he seemed to get over his depression of Evelyn and begun inventing new machines.
Younger Brother was willing to fight for his pent up ideas and opinions about Coalhouses situation; “He had composed an impassioned statement about justice, civilization and the right of every human being to a dignified life”(243). Younger Brother decided to fight for his beliefs by inventing and supplying weapons for the causes he thought just; “I can make bombs, I know how to blow things up”(243). After the entire Coalhouse incident had passed, Younger Brother took the Ford and drove south. Whether on purpose or not, he ended up in Mexico and his actions furthered intrigued the reader, “His clothes had worn away. He wore bib overalls and moccasins and an Indian blanket”(303).

What was he becoming, and why was he in Mexico? Younger Brother had figured out his purpose in life, and believed it was to fight for the Mexican Revolution. His clothes didn’t concern him, women didn’t concern him; his new personality was a stark contrast to the man’s whose house he lived under for so many years. Younger Brother had become a man with one goal, and he passionately followed it. Younger Brother’s metamorphism from a reclusive man to a Zapatista was in fact symbolized by his innovations. He “invented seventeen ordnances devices… they included a recoilless rocket grenade launcher, sonar-directed depth charges, infrared illuminated rifle sights, tracer bullets a repeater rifle, a light weight machine gun…”(317).
Younger Brother’s inventions were all due to the energy he pulled from fighting for individual’s rights. The reason he became a Zapatista was because, “They are not interested in seizing power. What they are interested in is power going back to the people where it rightfully belongs”(Parkins). His weapons became a symbol for freedom and justice. And although many view weapons as obstructions to freedom, Younger Brother made them for individual rights, and was willing to die for it.


By Peter Gilson


Davies, Lynn. "History of the Mexican Revolution." Www.ic.arizona.edu. 12 Mar. 1999. Web. 16 May 2011. .

Keith, Parkins. "Zapatistas." Heureka - Master Index. Sept. 2003. Web. 16 May 2011. .

McLynn, Frank. Villa and Zapata: a Biography of the Mexican Revolution. London: Jonathan Cape, 2000. Print.