Coalhouse Walker and Mothers Younger Brother
When I was reading Ragtime, I saw many different characters across the book and they all had their own different stories. Most of these characters seem to fit the classical stereotype of 1910s New Yorkers such as Mother being a normal stay at home mom while her husband works a government job. But the two major characters that really stand out to me and sort of feel out-of-place in the world of Ragtime are Mothers Younger Brother and Coalhouse Walker. It was also interesting to see how both characters would interact and what they choose to do about feeling out-of-place.
Given that Ragtime takes place in 1910s New York, Coalhouse Walker's actions are something that definitely lays him ahead of this time. This was due to him being so revolted and disrespected about what Conklin and the firemen had done to his car. He had tried to resolve this dispute peacefully by trying to ask the firemen and later the government for reparations. But, due to the racial bias that New York had, he was unable to get his car back in good condition, plus his fiancé would die as a result of injuries she suffered from being attacked by the vice presidents guards after trying to ask them for Walker's car in good condition. Coalhouse Walker would then proceed to start a rebellion in an effort for his car back by bombing areas around New York. What makes these action so stand out is that around this time, there weren't exactly any battles against the government in New York looking for some degree of racial "equality" for reparations. There weren't really be any until around the Civil Rights Movement which would happen around a few decades after the events of Ragtime in the late 1950s to 1960s. So I would perceive these events as being something that gives Coalhouse Walker a sort of "ahead of his time" mindset due to him pursuing rebellious actions against the American social structure that no other Africa-American would even think of trying to do until much later.
The other character that also stood out to me was Mothers Younger Brother, but the difference between him and Walker is that Doctorow actually gives us the idea of Younger Brother already feeling out of place in the world. This is mainly because throughout the entire book, He struggles to find a purpose in the world especially after the affair with Evelyn Nesbit would fizzle out. He soon finds a purpose and identity in the world as what I believe to be a foreshadowing on Doctorow's part. A few chapters earlier, he would end up in a socialist meeting in which Emma Goldman was present in, during that meeting they would talk about the Mexican revolution thinking that Younger Brother was a police officer. Later on, he would join Coalhouse Walkers group and begin making bombs. To me, the interaction between these two felt to me like them bonding about how out of place they felt in the world, and choosing to work together which would, in a way help Younger Brother find the purpose to be able to do something once again.
Neat! I had never thought about most of the characters as being typical for the time, but now that you point it out, it seems clear and gives further contrast to Coalhouse Walker and Mother's Younger Brother. in comparison to other characters from the text. I think Coalhouse being ahead of his time is hedged with a double irony, given he originally comes from Michael Kohlhaas, an earlier fictional character based on a historical tale. He's from the past and he has futuristic ideals. I also think it's intersting that you have Coalhouse Walker and Mother's Younger Brother being drawn together as outcasts, or people who are out of place, and I would like to highlight Sarah as another "transient element" who came from out of town, has no friends, family, or even a known last name, and who spends much of her time secluded in the attic. Coalhouse is by far her closes relationship, but she also has a generational bond with Mother's Younger Brother, and he is the first one she tells about Coalhouse postponing the wedding. Mother's Younger Brother also also views Sarah as having a similarly afflicted heart to his.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that in many ways, both Coalhouse and MYB are characters "ahead of their time," in that they specific engage readers in questions that were quite active in the 1970s when this novel was published: Coalhouse as a kind of post-civil-rights manifestation of Black militancy, justice "by any means necessary," while MYB is the quintessential white radical, the college dropout who opposes the Vietnam war or racism in the US and chooses a course of radical and sometimes violent resistance. There is a sense throughout the novel that other people don't know what to make of these guys, and that too might reflect the sense that they are kind of "from the future." But the ambiguities that attend their characters in the 1910s STILL are relevant in the 1970s context: we're no closer to consensus on the role of political violence to achieve just ends now than we were in 1975 or 1910. So in this sense, the two characters ALSO carry a kind of universality.
ReplyDeleteHey Elliott, I never really thought of both characters as feeling out of place, as I felt like Coalhouse Walker fit in pretty well before the incident. But your logic makes a lot of sense, as both characters do quite revolutionary things. However, I feel like Coalhouse Walker doesn't completely represent an early manifestation of the Civil Rights movement, as his cause is much more for himself, as once his demands are met, he ends his cause and turns himself in. But his actions inspired others to fight for their rights, and his followers were mostly concerned with racial justice, so in a way he was ahead of his time. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThis magnificent blog post makes two OUTSTANDING claims about Coalhouse Walker and Mother's Younger Brother. I definitely agree that Coalhouse was performing acts that were unheard of. The norm at the time was that colored people would keep their mouths shut whenever they were abused. Yes, Coalhouse Walker started the affair and did it all because of his vandalized car, his cause brought together people fighting for their rights and began the conversation of racial equality (in the world of Ragtime anyway). In terms of Mother's Younger Brother I'd argue that there were many well renowned revolutionaries at the time, most notably Emma Goldman, however what made him ahead of his time was the fact that he was doing it as an outside party, an upper middle class white. Great work!
ReplyDeleteElliot, honestly at first I would have never thought that Mother's younger brother and coalhouse walker would have a big relationship or have there characters connected. But this blog post makes amazing claims how Coalhouse and Mother's younger brother's character ideas go together. For how coalhouse is struggling with black people and how the world in unfair for them. While younger brother is struggling to find his place in the world. Great work elliot :>
ReplyDeleteHey Elliot, I really enjoyed reading your take on Coalhouse and MYB, and how you connected them as both feeling out of place as I hadn't thought of them being connected in that way before. I agree that Coalhouse seems very ahead of his time with how he refuses to just take and accept what comes at him and rather demands justice. I also think it's interesting with how MYB sort of "finds himself" through Coalhouse's cause and it makes their partnership feel less of a coincidence. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff brotato chip. These two are really ahead of their time, and do a great job of showing us how society used to treat innovators. I also think the author purposefully gave these two extra attentions for that sole purpose. I love how you noticed this. You're gifted in the reading business man.
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