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Chapter 23
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ragtime, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The American Dream
Replication and Transformation
Freedom, Human Dignity, and Justice
The Cult of Celebrity
Women’s Roles
Social Inequities
Summary
Analysis
Younger Brother stands regarding Coalhouse’s now utterly destroyed Model T. He has been struggling mightily for what feels like a long time, staving off despair only through overworking himself and a daily regimen of cold baths and vigorous physical exercise. He hates spending time with the rest of the family, whom he has come to regard as “complacent, ordinary and inconsiderate.” In this moment, then, alienated from his own family, he conceives a powerful loyalty to Coalhouse, and he feels a simmering rage at the treatment the Black man had to endure.
In fact, Younger Brother was about to be consumed by a devastating sense of hopelessness and depression when the cause of Coalhouse’s unjust treatment falls into his lap. He does have the temperament of a (potentially unstable) revolutionary, as Goldman noted in Chapter 22. His burning disgust toward his family shows just how thoroughly—and how quickly—his brief fling with Evelyn and subsequent encounter with Goldman have transformed him.
Themes
Given what happens next, the narrative voice insists that it’s important for readers to know what can be known about Coalhouse Walker Jr.’s past. He grew up in St. Louis. He admired Scott Joplin. He worked as a stevedore and put his earnings toward music lessons. It may be the case that he was married in St. Louis—a woman there once claimed to be his divorced wife, but she could never prove it. Nothing is known about his parents or his education.
When the book pauses before describing “what happens next” it heavily foreshadows that coming events won’t be pleasant. Whatever poor treatment Coalhouse has already received is just the tip of the iceberg. And, importantly, the book takes the time before going further to make sure that it has fully humanized Coalhouse. He’s not just a successful Black musician with a slightly cocky attitude—he’s an individual shaped by the circumstances of his life.
Themes
Over the next three weeks, Coalhouse Walker Jr. “exhaust[s] the peaceful and legal means of redress” before turning to more extreme actions. He sees three lawyers recommended by Father; each refuses to help him bring a suit against Will Conklin and his volunteers. A Black lawyer in Harlem refuses too, noting that Conklin is the stepbrother of a city judge and the nephew of an alderman. The Black lawyer advises Coalhouse to forget the incident and focus on his upcoming wedding instead. Coalhouse even attempts to represent himself, but the police and city officials lose or misfile his initial complaint—and his second one, too.
Again, the book clearly indicates Coalhouse’s actions are about to turn illegal and violent. But it’s also careful to emphasize that this only happened after he had been thoroughly victimized by the legal system’s refusal to treat him with dignity and justice. The book doesn’t exactly condone Coalhouse’s ultimate actions, but it doesn’t rebuke them, either. Instead, it places them in the context of an asymmetrical fight for human dignity and freedom in which violence is sometimes a necessary—if troubling—means to bring about the kinds of radical changes needed to reshape society.
Themes
Dinnertime conversation at Mother and Father’s house revolves around Coalhouse’s proud, unexpected attempts to seek justice. They can’t help but think of the situation as his fault, because these kinds of things happen so often to Black men. One night, when Father tells Sarah what he thinks Coalhouse should have done (taken the Model T and left when he still had a chance, never mind the damage and the desecration), Younger Brother retorts that Father has never had to defend his own principles. Sarah retreats to the kitchen and Younger Brother follows her. She confesses to him that Coalhouse has indefinitely put their wedding off until his Model T is returned to him in mint condition.
Although Mother has behaved with more openness and acceptance, in the end, she demonstrates nearly as much casual racism as Father. They’re unable to see past their own privilege. Younger Brother understands this but cannot convince his brother-in-law or his sister to see what he does. However, the fact that he sides with Coalhouse and Sarah suggests that racial divides aren’t immutable. Instead, they’re socially constructed and propped up by the participation of those who benefit from division. And while the book has heavily hinted that Coalhouse won’t find justice in the end, the affinity between Younger Brother, Coalhouse, and Sarah offers hope that this need not be the case forever. If enough revolutionaries and people of conscience fight for justice, it will come.
Themes
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