Coalhouse Walker Jr.

In the novel Ragtime, the character Coalhouse Walker Jr. turns to a life of violence after an incident procured by a bunch of racist volunteer firefighters. The Emerald Isle volunteer firefighter staff vandalized Coalhouse’s car, when they detained him in order to make him pay a toll for passage on their road. Coalhouse is a black pianist, who in general was a very humble and obedient man, until that incident made him out to …

…he did go about settling the situation in a peaceable way, but when that did not work, he went the other route. In situations as such, the use of force is a more acceptable, but still not the best, solution. The use of force as a political tool is often used quickly and rashly, more often than not resulting in more problems after the temporary solution of the first. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow