More importantly, he frustrates me in this novel. I'm not really sure how we're supposed to view J.P. Morgan as a character. Is he being treated ironically, or are we supposed to be taking him seriously? Doctorow seems to change his mind a lot about it. When Morgan was introduced, Doctorow presented him in this kind of distant, godly light. But then... Doctorow had him meet Henry Ford, and Morgan shed his aura of superiority and authority. It seems like Doctorow's stripping him down, leaving us with this picture more akin to a little boy who's super excited to show off his tree house to some random kid than the man at the top of business pyramid.
Don't get me wrong -- I definitely like the childish Morgan better than the business man. That's probably why it surprised me so much when he sent that telegram to the District Attorney:
Give him his automobile and hang him. (287)Maybe I'm wrong, but it just seemed a little bit harsh for him to be saying that after we see him slumped in his chair full of childish disappointment when Ford blows him off. This isn't strictly speaking an academic observation, but he just seems like such a little cutie when he's forming the Pyramid Society, and then this telegram totally shatters that image for me.
I guess it is Morgan's library, full of his wonderful, invaluable treasures, but you'd think somehow he'd take pity on Coalhouse. Coalhouse is more articulate than Henry Ford, and certainly better dressed -- you can see Coalhouse frowning upon L.L. Bean shoes, can't you? Coalhouse is a musician, so he must have some appreciation for art, whereas Ford has absolutely none -- "Fancy Paintings," anyone? It just seems to me that Coalhouse and Morgan are both on a higher level than Ford. Coalhouse isn't an industrial genius, but he's certainly got a lot more class, and there's nothing to say he does most of his thinking on the toilet, so I was holding out for that random Doctorow plot twist that would have Morgan inviting Coalhouse to join the Pyramid society and everyone lives happily ever after.
Needless to say, when I didn't get that ending, I was upset with Morgan. I'll probably remain upset with him until I get another chapter with him playing hide-and-seek in the sarcophagus with Ford. Maybe I'm reading too much into him as a character, maybe Doctorow meant him to seem like a jerk all the time, maybe I'll forgive him the telegram eventually, but I won't forgive the ATM thing. That's just ridiculous.
2 comments:
I'm thinking the reason Morgan and Coalhouse don't get all chummy is probably related to the fact that Morgan has never met Coalhouse or even seen him. Essentially all he knows about Coalhouse is that he is threatening to blow up his very valuable art collection because he wants his car back.
I think if I were Morgan, interrupted to deal with this unknown destroyer, I wouldn't be thinking "Oh, I should invite him to join my secret club." I'm sure I would be thinking more along the lines of, "How do I get the police to take care of this without bungling the job and getting my museum blown up?"
And "hang him" certainly sounds ominous--especially in the era of lynchings--but colloquially it also means something closer to "to hell with him" (which is also pretty ominous, out of context!). I think what we're seeing here is Doctorow's imagined "private" Morgan (the kid in the clubhouse) contrasted with the businessman, who acts decisively when his interests are threatened, who isn't gunshy about using his power, and who (we learn in chapter 40) won't even give this "mad black man" another thought. If Ford and Morgan represent a clashing of "worlds," then Coalhouse and Morgan are too far apart for even Doctorow to bring together.
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