Billy Bathgate Character Analysis

To show the double sided coin that is the American dream when it comes to respectability and criminality. The growth of Billy Bathgate and Mother’s Younger Brother will need to be closely followed to answer why. By following each individual's separate journey from respectability to criminality, in the case of Mother’s Younger Brother, and then flipping the spectrum to criminality to respectability, in regards to Billy Bathgate, a deeper understanding of the fine line between Capitalism and criminality is able to be unearthed. Moreover, through Mother’s Younger Brother’s story begins in a respectable home but quickly becomes dissatisfied with his life due to the idleness of his family and the inheritor of stagnation. To incite change Mother’s Younger Brother tries to find change through the worshiping of images, namely Evelyn Nesbit, and when this …show more content…
Emma Goldman marks the transition point between Mother’s younger Brother’s respectability and criminality by giving her speech and helping him to further his understanding that there is something flawed with the American dream. However, she does not change his perspective but furthers his understanding, whereas before he was limited by the family in his understanding. It is after this transition he becomes a terrorist and and uses Coalhouse Junior’s racial attack to assist him in fighting against the capitalist conundrum because he wishes to incite any possible change that he can. Mother’s Younger Brother, still lacks a deep understanding of how to go about causing change so to push along change as quickly as he can he goes to extremes this can also be seen whenever he joins the zapatistas and actually fights capitalism.
This same pattern can be seen in Billy Bathgate however it is turned upside down. Billy begins from the criminal side of the spectrum as a kid living in the Bronx who is not limited by his family in his understanding of what he seeks to do. Billy being brought up in