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 …showed first 75 words of 566 total…

…showed last 75 words of 566 total…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