Similarities Between 'Between The World And Me And Where Are You Going?'

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People with power maintain their power by control over bodies, legacy and false appearances. To initiate, people maintain their power by having control over bodies as shown in the book “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates and the short story “Where have you been? Where are you going?” by Joyce Carol Oates. Coates describes how white people have maintained their power within society through the following quote: “As for now, it must be said that the process of washing the disparate tribes white, the elevation of the belief in being white, was not achieved through wine tasting and ice cream socials, but rather through the pillaging of life, liberty, labor and land; through the flaying of backs; the chaining of limbs; the strangling …show more content…

In addition, Oates expresses Arnold Friends control over Connie’s body through this quote, “She thought for the first time in her life that it was nothing that was hers, that belonged to her, but just a pounding, living this inside this body that wasn’t really hers either. You don’t want them to get hurt. Arnold Friend went on. Now get up, honey. Get up all by yourself. She stood. Now, turn this way. That’s right, Come over here to me” (Pg.6). Arnold Friend had control over Connie’s body because she had no other choice or at least she felt that way. She could not decide for herself what she wanted to do. She felt like it was not up to her to make a decision. Even though she wanted to leave, run away from Arnold Friend and the dangerous situation he had her under. Connie did not want to jeopardize the life of her family. Arnold used the excuse of hurting her family members as a manipulation strategy to control her actions and decisions. As the quote stated, that her body wasn’t hers it empathized that her body was Arnolds. Arnold from that point on basically owned her body, controlled her body and in which made her do everything he wanted. This shows how she is

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