“Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates Review

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Early Years
Fear on the Streets
Physical Approach
Conclusion
Work Cited

Introduction

Between the World and Me is a non-fiction work written by Ta-Nehisi Coates in 2015. The book has a non-defined structure of a letter and is addressed to the son of the author. In this text, Coates concerns the hardships that African-American people constantly encounter in America. The themes of fear, violence, and physical, as opposed to intellectual and mental, approach to life continually persist in the book. The main focus of this paper is to summarize the first section of Between the World and Me that depicts the childhood of the author and points out the hardships that haunt African-American people.

Early Years

The chapter commences with the description of the early years of the author in Baltimore. Starting from childhood, Coates quickly realized the dangers the African-American people face in their lives. He mentions, “To be black in the Baltimore of my youth was to be naked before the elements of the world, before all the guns, fists, knives, crack, rape, and disease” (Coates 14). In families, parents often retorted to a strict regime to not allow their children to succumb to drugs and violence. The author states, “he beat me for threatening my ninth-grade teacher. Not being violent enough could cost me my body” (Coates 21). The quote implies that Coates fully understood the necessity of the severe attitude from his father, and it allowed him to become a better man.

Fear on the Streets

Throughout the book, the author constantly concerns the theme of fear in African-American people, and how it leads to anger and violence. Coates believes that the issue of despair involved every child in his neighborhood, and some children found their own ways to deal with anxiety. The author says, “the crews, the young men who’d transmuted their fear into rage, were the greatest danger” (Coates 17). However, the writer did not mean any hatred towards these people, as he understood that the cause of such behavior is rooted deep in the society, and not the boys themselves. This was the most frequent type of fear escapism – transforming it into violence. Standing out and not being involved in street confrontations could also be detrimental for young men, so there was no way to avoid danger.

Physical Approach

Along with the theme of fear, the author frequently concerns the issue of physicality in the book. As a child, due to the dangers on the streets, Coates did not see interest in intellectual and metaphysical matters as they were extremely distant from real life. Therefore, the school felt unnecessary and even misleading, as its main goals were not what Coates was thriving for. The author states, “I sensed the schools were hiding something, drugging us with false morality so that we would not see, so that we did not ask” (Coates 20). For a young boy in a poor neighborhood, scholar advancement was the least of his priorities.

Conclusion

Summing up, Between the World and Me is a great example of an autobiographical book. The work demonstrates not only the difficulties that African-American people continually face but also the position of the author making it more captivating for readers. Fear and violence, the main themes of the book, are concepts that most people are familiar with to some extent. Furthermore, it might make readers uncomfortable, realizing what some people went through in their lives. However, this type of awareness is critical for personal growth as an individual and a better attitude towards other people.

Work Cited

Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. Spiegel & Grau, 2015.

Click Here To Order Now!

“Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates Review

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)