Coalhouse: Why he does what he does

Coalhouse Walker Junior is a very intriguing character in Ragtime. It is hard to tell what he is thinking throughout the whole car fiasco, but I have tried to deduce at least the more general thoughts behind what he does. To start with, I do not believe for one second that Coalhouse really cares that much about his car. He is using the Model T merely as a means to open the nations eyes to the stupidity of racism. Everything that he does following his being halted by the firemen, he does to bring about social change.
In the very beginning of this series of disastrous events, when he goes to the police, it seems as if he is acting as if the civil rights movement has already occurred, and he seriously expects their help. However, he does not seem surprised in the slightest when he does not receive assistance. This leads me to believe that Coalhouse is fully aware of the racial situation at the time. Therefore, perhaps he is attempting to bring about civil rights by acting as if they are already there. That is an interesting strategy for social change, but, in Coalhouse's case, does not prove effective. He soon turns to more drastic measures. I think that Coalhouse realizes that his country is not going to change its racist ways, and so he turns against it.
Coalhouse reminds me of Martin Luther, because they both say problems within the communities they were a part of (USA and Catholic Church, respectively). They both then tried to fix these problems from within those communities, while remaining loyal to them while hoping for and really expecting change. And lastly, they both saw that the change was not forthcoming, and so they both changed courses and left their communities to form "better" ones. I interpret Coalhouse's little band as almost a new Nation, albeit one without land of its own. They are their own government, and all seem totally content with their situation, despite the fact that their nation, which they have named "Coalhouse", has gone to war with the United States.
The irony of the situation is that once Coalhouse has left the US (figuratively, not physically), public opinion begins to turn more in his favor. This is not to say that the majority of the US likes him, but people hate Willie Conklin, and, with the raising of the Model T, can see the effects of racism firsthand in a way that they understand. I think that because of this, Coalhouse does at least partly reach his goal of social change, in that he helps to begin what will be a very long journey to justice for all.

Ironic Metanarratives

     In class, we have discussed Doctorow's use of irony when describing most of the characters. However, he seems to write without any irony about Harry Houdini and Evelyn Nesbit. This may be for a multitude of reasons, but I think that it has to do with metanarratives, or rather the lack thereof. Most of the characters follow certain metanarratives, such as capitalism, the poverty balls, and even Mother's Younger Brother's infatuation with Evelyn. Doctorow pokes fun at Goldman because she is so obsessed and caught up in the metanarrative that is anarchy, and at Riis for his obsession with air shafts. I don't think that Doctorow is laughing at any (or at least most of) these characters directly, but rather at the metanarratives they believe, and just the fact that they follow any single metanarrative. This also explains why he even makes fun of characters who act like him.
     Evelyn and Houdini do not have any particular guiding principles or ideas or metanarratives that they follow and stand by. Both of them simply live their lives, take things as they come, and do not think overly much. This lack of guidance can be seen as a sort of sincerity, because they act on how they feel and what they want instead of committing to a metanarrative and only doing things that are seen as okay from that particular viewpoint. They are in a sense jumping from metanarrative to metanarrative as the whim takes them. This seems like a very postmodern thing to do, and perhaps Doctorow thinks it good or even wise of them. This in itself is ironic, that they are wise to not think as much about what they are doing, but it does have a certain logic to it, and explains Doctorow's lack of irony when discussing them.