The Fall of Coalhouse Walker

Coalhouse Walker has proven to be a very volatile character. Over the months of his courtship of Sarah, it was proven to us how persistent a man he is. He kept coming to visit the house in New Rochelle every Sunday until the day Sarah agreed to marry him. Father’s view on his stubborn pride is depicted on page 162, “It occurred to Father one day that Coalhouse Walker didn’t know he was a Negro.” This quote shows that Coalhouse, whether consciously or not, refuses to accept what the societal norm says his position in life should be. Although at first this might be interpreted as naiveness on the man’s part, perhaps being a man born a century or more too early. His stubbornness made him stand out among those too scared to stand up for their rights, like the two boys who witnessed all that transpired and could say nothing. All guises fall away when he is confronted by the Emerald Isle fireman team, where it is evident that he just refuses to accept that he can be discriminated against. He even may have recognized that he can't expect an apology on page 177, "Walker may have realized this was probably the maximum support he could expect from a policeman. At the same time he may have wondered if he'd been oversensitive to what was intended as no more than a prank." As the Coalhouse situation develops, he becomes exasperated at the complete lack of support for his plight. Lawyers turn him down, many question his reaction just like he may have questioned himself in the above quote. Many tell him to just cut his losses while he still can, which seems like reasonable advice as the stakes grow ever higher. If at first Coalhouse could have made off with a total loss of $25, the more damage is incurred to his property. First it is just slight damage to his car, but as he refuses to pay up and leave, his Model T is summarily disassembled, representing a total loss of at least $600, a massive sum by any means. The most dangerous progression of events lies in his losses. The more he sacrifices, the less he has left to care for. When Sarah dies. Coalhouse Walker loses the most important thing in his life. After spending most of his remaining holdings on his fiancée's funeral, all he has left is his beliefs. After this downwards spiral of events, I believe that in his mind, Coalhouse had no choice of actions. His pigheaded actions lost him all he held dear except his pride, so for his pride he took to solving his problems through more violent means. After diplomacy fails, all that remains is war, and Coalhouse Walker Jr., President, Provisional American Government, aims to defend his pride and fight for justice at any cost.