Why did the author choose the title Ragtime for this novel? What is ragtime music? What are its origins and how does it relate to other genres of music? What does it reveal about the society in which it was created?

Sorry, this is only a short answer space. Ragtime is a type of music. Ragtime music casts a symbolic spell over the entire novel. Not just the entire narrative, even the very sentence structure which describes that narrative. Despite the way that it is often played, ragtime is not intended to be played at a fast rhythm. The same goes for the novel; it is meant to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace. The pacing of ragtime is directly tied to the period setting of the novel. The turn of the century just assembly lines, automobiles, movies and jazz music were about to quicken the pace of American life forever.