Booker T. Washington in Ragtime
Ragtime is a story that intermingles real-life characters with real, historical, figures, often blurring the lines between what is fiction and what is historical fact with his crazy but yet somehow plausible storylines. One such historical character he brings into the story is Booker T. Washington, a well-respected African American man from the time period. His role in Ragtime is to convince Coalhouse, a fellow black man, to stop fighting for his car and forgive the government. To understand the significance of Booker T. Washington in the narrative, we must have a better understanding of his identity and legacy. Washington was a man born into slavery, but he later gained freedom during the Civil War, as the state of West Virginia joined the Union side. After gaining freedom, Washington pursued higher education at various colleges and went on to create the Tuskegee Institute, a school for training teachers. He believed that African Americans...