Reaction to Coalhouse

Throughout Ragtime, Coalhouse Walker demonstrates a break from the norms of the early 1900’s. At the start of the novel, Coalhouse is doing well under the current system. He is financially stable and has no trouble seeing himself as equal with white society. Coalhouse’s “proud” persona deviates from societal norms. His personality elicits varied responses in the characters he interacts with. For instance, Younger Brother is profoundly supportive, the Little Boy is curious, and Father is uncomfortable as he attempts to fit Coalhouse into his preconceived view of the world. Issues arise when Coalhouse’s unconventional belief that he is equal collides with the accepted perception by the masses that black people are inferior. Upon not being able to receive the legal aid that Coalhouse feels entitled to, after his car was vandalized, he experiences disillusionment with the system. Coalhouse’s quest for justice soon transforms into a drive for revenge. It can be argued that as Coalhouse’s personality shifts towards anger, he becomes closer to the accepted idea of a black man. He is dangerous and viewed as not intelligent enough to live within the legal system. In this way, while he starts out in stark contrast to societal norms, he later reinforces some of them.
When looking at Coalhouse’s situation through modern eyes, it can be difficult to understand why he is viewed as such an anomaly. The views of acceptable behavior for all ethnicities have changed drastically and it is no longer uncommon for a black man to be well-off financially and to see himself as equal to white men. It is also entirely possible for a black man to pursue legal action against a white man today. However, killing firemen and attempting to hold a prominent businessman hostage to avenge the death of a loved one, is still viewed as radically opposed to normal behavior.
Ragtime addresses the social culture of America in the early 1900’s. It also addresses the nature of history. History is often told by generalizing groups into easily explained units. Ragtime uses individual stories to build a historical network of interactions. This allows for history to be told with a subtext. It demonstrates that the differences between groups are not necessarily as clear-cut as traditional history has proposed. Still, when attempting to describe the society of a place as large as America, generalizations are inevitable. No single text can represent the individual experiences of each citizen; therefore the opinions of some groups of people are going to be lumped together.
Coalhouse presents an intriguing duality in the development of his character. He stands in contrast to many of the socially accepted behaviors of a black man. He is intelligent, is not afraid of work, and believes that he is entitled to the same legal and social treatment as a white man. Still, he also reinforces part of the doxa. In this way, he can be seen as dangerous to white society as he guns down and attempts to capture men that never directly did him any harm. In doing, so he makes himself appear the unstable, untrustworthy, and dangerous man that society portrays him to be.