Essay about Analysis of Doctorows Billy Bathgate

Unspoken Laws in Billy Bathgate With the introduction into gang life comes opportunities for wealth, women, status and power all with the convenient diffusion of any criminal or moral responsibility. Like any society, the secret world of criminal gangs has its own set of stringent expectations and rules that must be followed. In E. L. Doctorow’s Billy Bathgate, the secret world of Schultz’s New York gang empire is revealed through the eyes of the young protagonist, Billy Bathgate. During a time when the grave effects of the depression had trickled down into nearly every community, the opportunity to partake in the privy, elite, prosperous network posed by Schultz was the manifestation of all that Billy could hope for. In his short†¦show more content†¦While constantly aware of Miss Drew’s situation, Billy can’t escape the realization of his position’s possible transiency and the fact that his life depends on his usefulness in the gang: â€Å"all I had to remember was h ow small of a mistake was sufficient to change my fortune, maybe even without knowing it. I was an habitual accomplice to murder. I could be arrested, tried, and sentenced, to death†(123). From this, Billy is impressed with one of the fundamental rules that accompanies inclusion in gang life—absolute loyalty to the gang’s interests. Billy observes the consequences of breaking this rule of loyalty when he hops onto the boat and into the scene of Bo’s sinking figure, and later, when Schulz’s personal life becomes complicated with a pending courtcase. The gang loyally relocates to the rural small town of Onondaga to help ensure the boss avoids jailtime. After painstakingly building an amiable reputation in the town for the Boss, Schultz’s temperament leads to â€Å"the president† Julie Martin’s murder in the hotel. The entire gang dutifully cleans the room and removes the body with cover up concluding with and unprepared Billy bein g punched in the face. After the fact, Billy comes to see the necessity of his subsequent broken nose yet is internally insulted and cannot shake the urge to â€Å"get revenge† (159). This affront to his own ego caused a shift