Henry Ford, Seen Through the Eyes of Doctorow
Doctorow has a distinctly post-modernist outlook on things. Especially on the subject of industrialization in the early 1900s. In chapter 18 we see Doctorow give a description of the introduction of the assembly line, through his own interpretation and understanding of the event. His portrayal and description of Henry Ford and his new invention seem both flattering and demeaning at the same time. He seems to recognize its historical signficance while also subtley critizing the motivations and the person behind the invention.
Henry Ford is widely regarded as one of the most influential businessmen in all of history because of his introduction of the assembly line. Doctorow seems to respect this fact. However, he does not hesitate to criticize Henry Ford's character in his description of his actions. It is important to note that this book is not completely based on fact. Some of these details are manufactured and purely the imagination of Doctorow, but nevertheless represents a general idea of events and the time period.
Henry Ford is portrayed as a very mechanical man, who only has one goal in mind: the most efficient and methodical method of constructing things and making a profit. There are many subtle details that Doctorow includes to convey this character trait of his interpretation of Henry Ford as a person. For example, one that sticks out the most was when Ford has a stopwatch to make sure that the workers only celebrate for exactly a minute before returning to work. He is focused on the task at hand, not celebrating the moment.
Another detail that I found amusing was the way that Doctorow mentioned Ford's love for nature and animals. The description of his interest in wildlife starkly contrasted with the description of his workers and their purpose. Each task in his assembly line was made as simple as possible because, in his eyes, workers would otherwise make errors, as a result of their stupidity and unreliablity. He only views his workers as machines who are a necessary part of his business. However, wildlife, not the humans who work for him, get his attention and appreciation. This detail accentuates how even his good qualities excentuate how calculative of a businessman he is.
I really enjoyed this chapter in the book as it makes you think more about why success and innovation is so glorified. Of course new inventions and industrial improvements are good and benefit millions of people, but sometimes it takes a lack of humanity to accomplish these materialistic goals.
Interesting points. Ford's "invention" of the assembly line leads directly to dehumanization. In Doctorow's words, he makes it so that "not only that the parts of the finished product be interchangeable, but that the men who build the products be themselves interchangeable parts” (136)... down the road, we're looking at robots taking the jobs of interchangeable humans. Shout out Andrew Yang.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting points on how success and innovations are so glorified, yet the people who are leading these innovations are sometimes borderline sociopathic. I think there are several famous and wealthy businessmen in our time who we can compare to Ford in his utilitarian visions for the future. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteHello Charles. You point out a lot of Ford's qualities and how they all point towards him being a cold and dehumanizing, but efficient businessman. Doctorow is definitely intentionally eventuating these qualities to point out his views on capitalism, and I think it is an important commentary. 50 years down the line, we can now see how this played out...
ReplyDelete