Summary Of Between The World And Me
The racial discrimination in America creates a lack of opportunities and privileges for minorities. That gap adds to the hardship of the black reality. In Between The World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates explains that through the concept of "struggle”. In fact, the exchange between the author and his son Samori serves to introduce the discourse of the “struggle”. Coates insists throughout his text on the need to realize the condition of the black bodies and why one, mostly as a minority, mustn’t get too comfortable and become complacent. What Coates call the struggle, keeps us grounded in contemporary America, which is callous toward black people. As he suggests, it is an everyday battle, that one can’t escape in racial America. Detroit is an example of how black people can’t ignore that oppressive environment. Whether it is, in the household, the neighborhood or the school, these are three-takeaways obstacles that translate in Coates assessment of the black struggle.
Family is the first determinant of the black experience. …show more content…
As Coates explains: “Black people love their children with a kind of obsession. You are all we have, and you come to us endangered (pg. 98).” Indeed, it is only relatable for many who come from single-parenting homes. have watched my mother become the sole provider for my family after losing my father in 2001. Unfortunately, because of my mother’s hectic schedule, I never developed a real relationship with her either. Both my mother and I struggled on a daily basis, she struggled to provide food for my family and I. Whereas I struggled every morning to take my mother to work at six am, come back to get my siblings dressed, and fill in where she couldn’t. Coates is very big on the concept that the struggle will prepare you to survive in the real world. He feels as if struggling gives you the grit that you need to be successful in any situation in which I can agree. Persevering through these hardships equipped me with the tools I needed to stay focused under any and all circumstances. Under the same conditions as I, college wasn’t an option for most of the youth in Detroit. They felt as if they had an obligation to take care of their families because they didn’t have anyone else at home to do so. Coats says to his son, “I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would rather have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.” (pg. 103) In which my peers did. They took on some back-breaking jobs and those who didn’t qualify to turned to a life of drugs and violence. Post-high school is where the struggle really began. The ones who stayed in Detroit after graduation became adults well in advance. They are the ones who have been providing shelter and heat for their families for years and given that history, they decided to continue to do so. The struggle continues with those who have made the decision to go away and further their education so that maybe one day they can come back for their families.
However, their struggle is a little different, they are placed in an environment where they are viewed as the minority especially if they attend a large university. When going into spaces like this “You must resist the common urge toward the comforting narrative of divine law, toward fairy tales that imply some irrepressible justice.” (pg. 123). In the words of Coates. With that begging said, we mustn’t succumb to the negative stereotypes, but instead push through because just as Coates does not let Samori or his reader forget that each slave was a living, breathing human being with hopes, desires, fears, and the capacity to hurt emotionally and physically we shouldn't either. Using this as motivation, we must continue to move forward and use of past and current struggles as our
strengths. The struggle can be weakened by the study of black intellectuals as well as the embrace of one's community of fellow black men and women. The struggle is a constant in this racially divided America. This novel constantly reminds of this and repeatedly shows us that we must continue to fight. The struggle is our weapon and every day that we face is our fight. It displays our efforts in never giving up.
Family is the first determinant of the black experience. …show more content…
As Coates explains: “Black people love their children with a kind of obsession. You are all we have, and you come to us endangered (pg. 98).” Indeed, it is only relatable for many who come from single-parenting homes. have watched my mother become the sole provider for my family after losing my father in 2001. Unfortunately, because of my mother’s hectic schedule, I never developed a real relationship with her either. Both my mother and I struggled on a daily basis, she struggled to provide food for my family and I. Whereas I struggled every morning to take my mother to work at six am, come back to get my siblings dressed, and fill in where she couldn’t. Coates is very big on the concept that the struggle will prepare you to survive in the real world. He feels as if struggling gives you the grit that you need to be successful in any situation in which I can agree. Persevering through these hardships equipped me with the tools I needed to stay focused under any and all circumstances. Under the same conditions as I, college wasn’t an option for most of the youth in Detroit. They felt as if they had an obligation to take care of their families because they didn’t have anyone else at home to do so. Coats says to his son, “I would not have you descend into your own dream. I would rather have you be a conscious citizen of this terrible and beautiful world.” (pg. 103) In which my peers did. They took on some back-breaking jobs and those who didn’t qualify to turned to a life of drugs and violence. Post-high school is where the struggle really began. The ones who stayed in Detroit after graduation became adults well in advance. They are the ones who have been providing shelter and heat for their families for years and given that history, they decided to continue to do so. The struggle continues with those who have made the decision to go away and further their education so that maybe one day they can come back for their families.
However, their struggle is a little different, they are placed in an environment where they are viewed as the minority especially if they attend a large university. When going into spaces like this “You must resist the common urge toward the comforting narrative of divine law, toward fairy tales that imply some irrepressible justice.” (pg. 123). In the words of Coates. With that begging said, we mustn’t succumb to the negative stereotypes, but instead push through because just as Coates does not let Samori or his reader forget that each slave was a living, breathing human being with hopes, desires, fears, and the capacity to hurt emotionally and physically we shouldn't either. Using this as motivation, we must continue to move forward and use of past and current struggles as our
strengths. The struggle can be weakened by the study of black intellectuals as well as the embrace of one's community of fellow black men and women. The struggle is a constant in this racially divided America. This novel constantly reminds of this and repeatedly shows us that we must continue to fight. The struggle is our weapon and every day that we face is our fight. It displays our efforts in never giving up.