Death Case

When justice is deprived in society, it becomes a ticking bomb that threatens to explode dramatically. The author of Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow, could not write about the changes in American society without mentioning the resonance of the Civil Rights movement, violent protests, and other potent events resulting from the lack of racial equality. Coalhouse Walker Jr, the most plot-propelling character of the novel, seeks justice after the destruction of his Model T Ford, and in return sacrifices the lives of a dozen people, including himself, and his beloved Sarah. He symbolizes the unjust treatment of blacks, their struggle for civil rights, and the ultimate social unrest resulting from his failure to achieve equal rights with whites.

The injustice that Coalhouse has to endure becomes a driving mechanism behind his actions. The greatest injustice is racism, which never leaves him. It is shown when mother furiously slams the door in his face upon their first meeting and father threatens to call the police. This concept of social segregation between blacks and whites is so fundamentally rooted within the society of the novel, that racist attitudes toward Coalhouse stimulate an instinctive and natural response from its perpetrators. Even though he has a decent wage, acts gentlemanly, embraces strong principles, and pursues a career of his passion, he is treated less than his value because being black overpowers all his virtues. His surprising difference from many blacks at the time portrays an attitude of a free man acting on his own interests rather than his race. It is the result of his appearance and behaviour that provokes the notorious Willie Conklin and his firehouse volunteers to suppress him by unjustly ordering a non-existent toll-fee, his reason being that the firemen need to save fires, "...just like you (blacks) need to drive to whorehouses" (147). Conklin, unable to accept the reality of Coalhouse's wealth, casually mentions whorehouses, as if all blacks are degraded versions of human beings. Coalhouse's refusal to pay results in his car being damaged so horrendously that, "the hood was unlatched, and lifting and folding it back, ...the wires had been torn from the engine" (152). He faces further discrimination when the negligence of police, lawyers, and the law attacks his pursuit of compensation. Hence, this very principle that justice serves everyone equally, is treated like a joke in Coalhouse's situation. His unreasonable sufferance symbolizes this injustice committed against African Americans by the American society.

Nevertheless, Coalhouse does not give up a peaceful pursuit of justice. He believes that by acting faultlessly, people will have no choice but to accept him. He does so by behaving beyond the standard of nobleness, so much that Father thought, "He seemed to be able to transform the customary deference practiced by his race so that they reflected to his own dignity