The Peary Expedition as Allegory in RagtimeE.L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime is primarily concerned with the illustration of broken dreams. Drawing inspiration from the tradition of Muckraker novels by authors such as Upton Sinclair, Doctorow shows the dark side of the Jazz Age. The beginning of the novel deals with the preparation and participation of the father in William Peary's expedition to the North Pole. The theme of disillusionment that runs throughout the novel is prefigured and represented by the Peary expedition. Peary's expedition, like the American dream and the socialist vision, is based on great hopes. The expedition, however, is marked by disappointment and leads to the destruction of dreams and people. In Doctorow's treatment, the American dream and the socialist vision share this fate. In this way, Peary's polar expedition serves as an allegory for the entire novel. The novel is full of big dreams, broad visions, and high hopes. The general tone of the era and the American dream are represented in the exploration of the Arctic. The North Pole represents what seems unattainable and its search is a great aspiration to dreams. The trials and tribulations of Arctic exploration exemplify the Romantic ideal of endless endeavor. Even the experienced Houdini is impressed by the grandeur of Dad's journey. This magnificent feat serves as preparation for the hopes and dreams expressed throughout the novel. The American dream of prosperity is demonstrated throughout in the deification of industrialists and the fact that "there were no Negroes. There were no immigrants" (4). As Dad's ship departs for the Arctic, he does not see the immigrants entering New York Harbor, but "... middle of paper ... the ambiguous victory of the Peary expedition through the various social visions expressed and in the lives of his characters, Doctorow presents a vision of the Jazz Age that presents and deconstructs the values ​​and dreams of the period. By the end of the novel, as the narrator notes, "the Ragtime era was over" and the hopes and the dreams of a generation have faded. The characters who have adapted to the world by abandoning their initial visions survive and thrive to face the ambiguities of life into faded representations of themselves Works Cited: Doctorow, EL Ragtime New York: Bantom/ Random House, Inc., 1976