Author(s): Zhang Bingqi

Abstract: Musicality in E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime is quite deserving of study, as represented by its title. This article conducts an interdisciplinary study and offers a corrective to previous scholarship that has routinely overlooked the relationship between the counterpoint of musicality and the American identities. It is split into three parts: the manifestations of counterpoint musicality in Ragtime, stabilized left-hand voice echoing progressive industry and varied right-hand voice echoing conflictive revolt, which emphasizes the reflections on the “double” American identities.

Keywords: Musicality; Counterpoint; Ragtime; Double American Identities

Article Info: Received: 16 Jul 2025; Received in revised form: 12 Aug 2025; Accepted: 16 Aug 2025; Available online: 20 Aug 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.104.69