Ragtime

by E.L. Doctorow

You are a creature of capitalism, the ethics of which are so totally corrupt and hypocritical that your beauty is no more than the beauty of gold, which is to say false and cold and useless.

There was no question that the Esquimos were primitives. They were affectionate, gentle, emotional, trustworthy and full of pranks. They loved to laugh and sing.

God had punishments in store so devious there was no sense trying to anticipate what they were.

He had clawed at the earth, feeling its monumental weight. He had screamed into its impenetrable silence.

Life shines on the shadow screen, as from the darkness of one’s mind.