Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Scott Joplin

Coalhouse Walker never actually meets Scott Joplin, not to our knowledge. But it's his music, the Ragtime music that Coalhouse plays so well, which gives Coalhouse the career he has and his disposition, as well as the novel its title. It's the musical alternative to the "c*** songs" for minstrel shows that Father asks for. It's also a precursor to jazz music: we know from the history music that jazz and monumental change went together hand in hand during the 1920s. We can see the stirrings of Jazz Age change in the Ragtime Era of the early 20th century.