The next big step he took was when he was mistaken for a police spy standing outside the offices of Emma Goldman's revolutionary magazine. He is taken inside and ends up at a congress in the Cooper Union in support of the Mexican Revolution. This time instead of being at such a meeting because Evelyn was there, it seems that he attends because he is drawn to Goldman and her ideas. He feels ashamed that he, from a relatively wealthy family, has nothing with which to support the cause while the working poor around him all find some change to give. I think that this is another turning point, the point where he wants to contribute to a revolutionary cause. We clearly see how strong Younger Brother begins to feel about his ideals when he responds to Father's comment that Coalhouse would have been better off just driving away when he could and forgetting the matter.
Younger Brother bristled. You speak like a man who has never been tested in his principles, he said. Father was so outraged by this remark that he could find no words.
This firm belief in justice is the basis of all revolution, and Younger Brother obviously has this belief. Of course, the real leap he makes towards becoming an outlaw like Coalhouse is when he seeks out the man himself. He shows how he truly wants to rebel by the amount of effort he puts into joining him. An easy way out without feeling like a coward would be to put little efforts in to attempts to communicate such that he never actually got Coalhouse's attention. However, Younger Brother is no coward when it comes to this revolution, and successfully joins the small group of black fighters. This officially commences his career, though the seeds had been planted long before.
I think you are very right that Doctorow has been building Younger Brother as a revolutionary from early on. However, I would argue that he had been really set apart for this purpose from the first moment that we met him. Doctorow first speaks of Younger Brother ironically, saying he's "attempting to find himself." I think that's what the world usually labels someone with un-channeled energy, a characteristic that often leads to revolution.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Grace thought about YB's un-channeled energy at the every beginning. And we do indeed see later on that once YB finds a purpose, he is very devoted to it: trailing Evelyn, backing Coalhouse etc. But I think that this is also compatible with your idea that YB's character as a revolutionary started with Evelyn's departure pushing him over the edge. If Evelyn had stayed, I can see YB going a completely different direction and putting all his energies in supporting Evelyn and what she gets involved it.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at this after having finished the book, Younger Brother really committed to the revolutionary cause. He really devotes himself to fighting in Mexico, proving your point that he really isn't a coward. I would still question how misguided he his and his reasons for devoting such energies to revolutionary causes. Although his devotion is unquestionable, I feel that Younger Brother never truly found himself, instead finding something he could commit to without question.
ReplyDeleteAs your post points out Younger Brother is set towards being a revolutionary but I wonder whether another element of his decision is a desire to be part of something. At the beginning of the novel, he lives in his sister's home and is described as being interested in fireworks and explosives but little else. His existence at this point seems to be consumed by Evelyn Nesbit. Younger Brother is thus something of an outsider, but this changes when he becomes a revolutionary because his skills with explosives makes him invaluable with rebel groups. When Younger Brother has joined forces with Coalhouse, having a place in his group has an impact on his identity; "Younger Brother was totally integrated in their community. He was one of them. He awoke every day into a state of solemn joy. I think that Younger Brother is not only aligned with revolutionary views but also feels accepted by those that believe in them.
ReplyDeleteDoctorow is maybe exploring a certain profile of the white middle-class revolutionary here: he starts off with a vague and inexpressible restlessness and dissatisfaction with the suburban white culture he's born into, he spends a lot of time "brooding" and feeling restless and directing his desires toward all kinds of inappropriate objects (e.g. Evelyn Nesbit). But something happens to radicalize him, to give his restlessness a political consciousness. That "something" here is a combination of Coalhouse entering his life (so he can vicariously have his own "principles tested") and Emma Goldman redirecting the object of his obsession from Evelyn to political liberation.
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