J.P. Morgan’s Travels to Egypt

J.P. Morgan

In the novel Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow uses third person omniscient narration in order to express J.P. Morgan’s opinions. According to the text, Morgan travels around the world in pursuit of something great. Morgan believes that he and Ford, another ruler of the industry, are special and will experience a life after death. Morgan strongly desires a pyramid in Egypt and even has possession of the Great Pharaoh in the secret room of his library; “Morgan’s intention in Egypt was to journey down the Nile and choose a site for his pyramid… He expected that with modern construction techniques, the use of precut stones, steam shovels, cranes and so forth, a serviceable pyramid could be put up in less than three years. The prospect thrilled him as nothing ever had” (E.L. Doctorow, 308). The narrator is all knowing and aware of Morgan’s thoughts and emotions. Also, Doctorow uses details in his writing to further make Morgan’s adventures real: “He dreamed of an ancient life in which he squatted in the bazaars, a peddler exchanging good-natured curses with the dragomans. This dream so disturbed him that he awoke. He became aware of being crawled upon. He stood up. Places all of his body itched” (310). These details appear to be completely true.
Morgan did travel throughout Europe and rode down the Nile. In a New York Times article dated December 31st, 1911, Morgan is reported to have said, “I am going up the Nile from Cairo in a steel dahabeah that I have had constructed after my own ideas of comfort." When the reporter asked for the date of return, Morgan said, "That I do not know as my plans are not definitely fixed. I like Egypt very much and enjoy the Winter climate there." According to this interview, Morgan planned to stay in Egypt due to the appealing winter weather. The book The Great Pierpont Morgan states that in 1877 Morgan and friends spent a year abroad. “In Egypt they chartered a steamer to go up the Nile and had their pictures taken in front of the ruins of Karnak in a group of eighteen—family, friends, doctor, maid, dragoman, waiter, and consular agent—Pierpont standing very straight and solid looking” (Allen, 42). It is evident that Morgan liked to travel and entertain friends. He showed off the steamer that he financed and took trips through Europe. Ragtime expresses J.P. Morgan’s desire to die following his trip to Egypt and Rome; “But he was far from unhappy, having concluded that his physical deterioration was exactly the sign for which he had been waiting” (312). Morgan anticipated his death and was not afraid. It is a fact that J.P. Morgan died in Rome shortly after his trip to Egypt with his daughter. It is also known that Morgan truly did collect old Roman artifacts. “Morgan was a collector of ancient Egyptian relics, classical art, and all kinds of books. The books were eventually donated to the New York Public Library, while the art and relics found their way into New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.” He died on March 31, 1913, in Rome, Italy, while returning from a trip to Egypt. However, Morgan was not interested in building his own pyramid, as expressed in the novel. He was accelerating his business abroad and built a home in order to oversee workers that he had hired for his company.
Doctorow incorporated and manipulated these facts pertaining to J.P. Morgan because they express Morgan’s superiority, arrogance and ambition. The novel attributes little to Morgan’s business successes because the book is not business oriented. Major themes of exploration and desire are evident in the novel, and Morgan’s ambition and aspiration to have a pyramid further contribute to these themes. For the most part however, Doctorow’s accounts on J.P. Morgan prove to be true.

By Brooke DeWitt

Baber, Mark. "J. P. MORGAN SAILS; IS GOING TO EGYPT." Encyclopedia Titanica. New
     York Times, 2010. Web. 9 May 2011. .

Allen, Frederick Lewis. The Great Pierpont Morgan. New York: Harper & Brothers
     Publishers, 1949. Print.

Carey, Charles W. "J.P. Morgan Dug Into Egypt's Past." American History Online.
     Facts on File, 2011. Web. 9 May 2011. .