s vivid descriptions of New York City in The 1930s" (CLC vol. 65 Author Overview) "Doctorows novel makes full and loving use of the manners, the artifacts, the savors and the rhythms of the 30s. He is marvelously skillful at getting into the thoughts and the lingo of the time." (Eder p.3) Doctorow doesnt just bringus the thirties, he brings us the thirties that nobody else will. In the depression era, there were many things that were done for money because there was no alternative. Three of these things were theft, bootlegging, and gangs, all of which seemed to come hand in hand with another. Billy and his adolescent friends are common thieves until Dutch Schultz takes Billy under his wing. Dutch Schultz himself was on a bootleg run when he met Billy. As far as the gangs, well, the whole book is about gangs. "In composing Billy Bathgate out of a boys divided loyalties, E.L. Doctorow has restored to The memory of American culture the era of the Great Depression it has tried to forget. In recovering the cultural legacy of the Depression era, Doctorow has produced a book that promises to remain as permanent an addition to its culture as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, its cultural predecessor."(Pease p.458-9)Doctorow does a spectacular job in recreating the 30s in his latest novel Billy Bathgate.CharacterizationDoctorow also does an excellent job in creating characters that the reader can enjoy and fear. Billy can be characterized as a greedy, decieving,and sneaky character in the novel. Billy continues to portray these qualities all the way to the end of the novel. Doctors characters are so well created that the reader can get a feel of who they really are.Billy is a very dynamic character in his ability to display so many qualities throughout the novel. One of these qualities is his need for greed. In fact the only reason he even gets involved in the gang scene is because dollar signs start rolling in his eyes. Billy learns...
