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Doctorow's distinctive lack of quotation marks when a character speaks has been on my mind ever since we started reading Ragtime. Without fail, Doctorow's characters never speak in quotations, their dialogue is simply printed on the page alongside the narration. The effect of omitting quotations varies throughout the book depending on the context, but I often find it jarring when Doctorow's writing switches from narration to quotation, or vice versa, with little warning. For example, on page 210, the narration switches from Father, to Mother's Younger Brother, to Father again, making it somewhat confusing if you read it fast. To honor Doctorow, I'll quote it here but won't use quotation marks: Younger Brother was sitting with his elbow on the arm of his chair and his head propped in his hand. His index finger was extended and pointed at his temple. He watched his brother-in-law. Are you going out to find him and shoot him? he said. I'm going to protect my ...