Analysis Of ' Between The World And Me ' And ' Me By Ta Nehisi Coates '

There have been many novels written about the experience of being born black in America but only so few have been able to give the reader a vivid point of view of what African Americans have gone through for generations. The book “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a very sympathetic letter to his fifth teen year old son Samori. Coates explains his experiences in the past on how being born into the world as a “Black Body” is considered as a disadvantage in America. Coates grew up with strict parents that were consistently keeping a keen eye on him always having his father constantly beating him and an always anxious mother. But as he grew older and had a son of his own he then realized the reasons behind his parent’s actions.

Coates provides readers with a lesson in American history and explains to his son that race is not reality, but that “Americans believe in the reality of ‘race’ as a defined, indubitable feature of the natural world” (Coates 2015; 7) He brings the reader inside the America in which he lives. He argues that “America’s problem is not its betrayal of ‘government of the people,’ but the means by which ‘the people’ acquired their names,” meaning that America has only ever represented and supported white people, that America was founded on a system of racial bias (6). He draws attention to the struggles that peoples of color, especially black people, have faced. Those struggles generate fear, which is one of the main ideas in the

America is supposed to be the land of opportunities. A place where you are free to do anything and become whoever you want to be but this does not apply to everyone. One of the reasons for Coates disagreement is the permanent racial injustice in America. People might think that the war between black and white people is over but this is not true. Daily, we can see many cases about racial injustice like when a white man with power treats other black workers as if they were inferior to him. Not only white people treat black people this way but there are many other cases in which you can see black folks discriminate white folks and this can also be seen through public media. Coates thinks that the war between black people and white people will be a permanent one, and because of this, he is also afraid that his son needs to be more prepared for the

In America today, racism is still massively affects blacks, which most think racism is a thing from the past. In “Between the World and Me,” Coates argues that racism is still active in America today, and most people do not realize the struggles blacks have to face everyday. Throughout part one, Coates uses credibility, logic, emotion and perfect timing to really demonstrate how much the black community endures.

Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me depict similar stories of struggle for meaning in the face of oppression. Coates, as a black man, discovers in Between the World and Me that there is no guarantee his right to life will be respected, and he turns this, and other realities, into lessons for his son to give his life meaning. Frankl, as a holocaust survivor, finds reprieve from his brutal surroundings at Auschwitz in the actions he can control, seeking meaning in his connections with others and discovery of himself. Through their paralleled journeys for purpose, both Coates and Frankl illustrate that oppression, though horrible, often brings one closer to their humanity---and that a life of Struggle has a greater purpose, while a life without does not.

The US is appealing in the eyes of other countries, and even ourselves, because of the “free” and “equal” characteristics we claim ourselves to have, such as: freedom of religion, freedom to own private property, and freedom of equal justice. However, in the eyes of an African America, Atlantic Monthly Journalist, we see that all of these freedoms find a loophole when it comes to the black community. In Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book Between the World and Me, he writes from a political, yet deeply personal standpoint to analyze today’s version of racism. Coates strays away from his usual journalist works to a more deeper and personal view. His book is devoted to his fifteen-year-old son, Samori, and provides him with guidance through the struggle of racism; all while letting Samori fend for himself. Coates’ lets his son know all this through history, and heritage; of his own and of America’s.

This theme helps illuminate how black people came to be treated in America both when slavery existed and beyond into today’s society. The theme that black people are disposable bodies within American society. Because of the tradition of treating black people as objects or whose value strictly came from their ability to make profit, the idea of what it means to be black in America is imbedded in the danger of losing one’s body. Although slavery has ended, the racism remains as a violence inflicted on black people’s bodies. Coates is more than happy to emphasize that racism is an instinctive practice.

Between the World and Me is a 2015 book written by Howard graduate, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Coates frames the book in the form of a letter to his young son, Satori, who is just 15 years of age at the time that the work is published. Coates’ primary purpose for writing the book is to educate his son on the struggles that come along with being a black being in America. The book was written in the midst of the deaths of black males such as Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice. It is the lack of appreciation for the African American body that inspires Coates to write this emotional, eye-opening letter to his son and American society.

Between the World and Me written by Ta-Nehish Coates is a compelling book about the white supremacy in America and how hard it is being black in America. Coates using this book as a measure to discuss the issues of race within this critical time of multiple hostile incidents. Just as James Baldwin did in his book The Fire Next Time, with his letter address to his nephew at the height of the civil rights movement, Coates models after his method. Coats and Baldwin write these books as guides during these critical moments in history not to aspire to any larger themes of overcoming or transcending “race” as a way to defeat racism but about the ways of survival and remembering. Coates is a realist who yet still find the beauty within the unequal disparities in America. How it is so apparent to see the devalue of black American live. Through out this novel Coasts examines the deeper meaning and values of black bodies he brings it together by describing his own personal experiences as a child in Baltimore, as a student as Howard, as a writer, and importantly as a parent. All these experience allow Coates to see the large overview of America’s history of brutality to black bodies, and the invention of race as form of social hierarchy. Coats uses of the quote “they made us a race, we made ourselves the people” he wants us to understand that while whites created the race for black as a social hierarchy with them as the dominant race, although he feels they are truly

Between the World and Me is a long letter that Ta-Nehisi Coates writes to his teenage son, Samori. Coates uses history and past experiences to express to his son how America does not value the black man’s body. Coates starts by telling of what it was like for him growing up in Baltimore. How he saw black men dress and carry themselves in attempts to possess themselves and power. He then talks about the awakening of his black consciousness at Howard University. Howard is where he first started learning about the contributions of black people in American history. He also was introduced to a variety of different types of black people. Howard is also where Coates experienced the death of a close friend, Prince Jones, that catapults the most powerful message in his novel; The American Dream is an insidious idea glorified by whites and the media that was built on the marginalization of black people.

As Coates extends and builds up the different variables and attributes, he presents new components. These conducted of analysis and additional memory of his very own history and memories growing up as a black man. He also refers to America history of slavery. In which he tends to feel is made up of socio-social, financial, and political establishment of the treatment of black individuals in America. He compares between

Between the World and Me examines the history and present circumstances of racial inequality and segregation in America. Coates directs the book to Samori to give his audience personal insight into the various stages of a black man’s life. From his childhood, to his college experience, to his complicated role as a father, Coates gradually unfolds a critical account of the relationship between black and white communities. He calls those who “believe themselves to be white” the “Dreamers” and criticizes them for the indifference toward black people 's experiences. He wants the audience to reflect upon themselves and realize that they are part of the problem.

The book Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates exhibits an exceptional number of powerful themes and lessons in which that allow for the reader to connect to and reflect on throughout the text. One specific message that transpired while reading was the idea of struggle and the subject’s importance as it relates to positive progression in life. At one point in the book the author states ,“Mistakes were made. Bodies were broken. People were enslaved.

After reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, I felt that the most powerful message in the book was Coates’ assertion that African Americans are striving for the “Dream” which is in fact unreachable. The “Dream” is supposed to be the desire of people to live in a big house with a white picket fence and a big yard, however because it was built on the backs of black people, literally, it is not something that is a realistic goal or a realistic dream. Coates wants his son to realize that America has been built on the marginalization of black people and other minorities and that because of this, it is not a place which will allow races that white people have deemed as “lesser” to prosper. The first major takeaway that I got from reading

Malcolm X is the pinnacle example of a man from humble beginnings finding himself, his connection to others, and his voice. His humility made him authentic, meaningful, and resonant with society at large. The Autobiography of Malcolm X has been in continuous publication since its first edition was printed in 1965. Not only a canonized text of Malcolm X’s story, it also contains such an important perspective on the history of inequality. In fact, it has been required reading in public schools for decades. The New York Times called the book, “Extrordinary. A brilliant, painful, important book” (X). Spike Lee, American director who directed the film Malcolm X, Praised the autobiography as, “The most important book I’ll ever read. It changed the way I thought; it changed the way I acted. It has given me the courage that I didn’t know I had inside me.