Scott Joplin was born the second son of Jiles and Florence Joplin (Preston, 21). Joplin lives in the Reconstruction era, so black people were still very much struggling for their freedom. Many black people were uneducated during this era because most former slaves had not been taught to read and write. Many of Scott Joplin's decisions and actions stemmed from his view that education was the only way for blacks to gain equality (Preston, 94). He may have chosen music as a career because there was a lack of other options. As a black man in a small Southern town, he could either be a manual laborer or a servant in a white household (Preston, 30). An influential character in Joplin's career choice was his mother. She continually encouraged him to excel in music and even scraped together the money for his first piano (Preston, 28). Whatever the reason, Joplin chose to become a musician and to leave his home in Texarkana at the age of 20 (Preston, 31).
Later in life, Joplin chose to continue on as an entertainer, but mostly as a composer (http://scottjoplin.org/bio.html). His main goal was to make ragtime an acceptable form of classical music (Preston, 17). Unfortunately, his goal was not met until 50 years after his death during the ragtime revival of the 1970's. His works were republished in 1972, and he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 (www.ddc.com).