Ragtime Chapter 19 Summary

  • We learn about J.P. Morgan, who ranks even higher than Ford at the top of American business. We see Morgan come to work, with this white moustache and gold-headed cane. At his desk, Morgan asks an aide to set up a meeting with Ford.
  • Morgan thinks that Ford must be someone as mighty as himself. He's tired of meeting other men that don't match up. He thinks Ford will.
  • We're told that the only human thing about Morgan is his giant red nose, an affliction he's had since he was a young man.
  • We learn of a dinner party at which Morgan found the most powerful men in America to be "horse's asses" (he thought they were dumb and full of themselves).
  • We learn that Morgan spends six months a year in Europe, collecting European paintings, artifacts and other treasures. These he brings back to America.
  • In Egypt, Morgan decides that there is a sacred tribe of men who are born in every generation to assist mankind. Naturally, he decides he is a member of this tribe. He thinks Ford is too, and even thinks that Ford bears a resemblance to Seti I, one of the great pharaohs of Egypt.