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Compare And Contrast Between The World And Me And Persepolis

871 Words4 Pages

What defines a person, how does a person identify himself or herself? It is a question that Greek philosopher Socrates pondered and people today still seek an answer to. Does a person identify himself or herself with who they were in past, who they are now, or do they identify themselves with their profession, culture, religion, or hobby. In the books “Between the world and me” by Ta-nehisi Coates and “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi both authors are the main protagonists in their own books. Both authors grapple with issue whether they are choosing whom or how they identify or whether their environment is shaping their identity. The first book this paper will look at is the Ta-nehisi Coates “Between the world and me” and its relation to struggling with identity. …show more content…

Early in the book Coates discuss his time growing up in a rough neighborhood, his need to adapt to the lingo and what gestures were appropriate when and where. Describing his time growing up in West Baltimore Coates stated “Before I could discover, before I could escape, I had to survive and this could only mean a clash with the streets…you have some acquaintance with the old rules but they are not as essential to you as they were to me… a culture concerned chiefly with securing the body.”(Coates pg. 21 & 24) In this quote it shows how the streets was molding who was, his identity; by adapting to the environment Coates compromises his identity for the safety of his body. Specifically looking at the words “Before I could discover” (Coates pg. 21) this alludes to Coates relations at the “Mecca” or his college he later

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Many people forget that African Americans in this country have been enslaved for longer than they have been free. Coates reminds his son to not forget their important history and that they will continuously struggle for freedom over their own bodies. They must learn to live within a black body. These struggles can be seen in the racial profiling and brutality among police officers in cases such as Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and countless of others. He goes on to describe his childhood and how fear was the root of black existence.

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Coates explains, “My father was so very afraid. I felt it in the sting of his black leather belt, which he applied with more anxiety than anger, my father who beat me as if someone might steal me away, because that is exactly what was happening all around us. Everyone had lost a child, somehow, to the streets, to jail, to drugs, to guns” (15-16). Coates claims that his father was afraid the streets would take control over him just like it was happening in other families. This quote differs from the last one I mentioned in paragraph two because we see the parents’ side and we realized that their fear is valid.

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When he appears to the reader's intellect he says “the fact of history is that black people have not-probably no people have ever- liberated themselves strictly through their own efforts”. This quote appeals to the readers because Coates indicates that the history of black people in America is that we never been free in this country by our own personal actions. Coates further appeals to the reader's intellect by saying “history is not solely in our hands. And still, you are called to struggle, not because it assures you to victory but because it assures you an honorable and sane life”. In this quote, Coates explains that the history of being black in America is a struggle but it is a struggle worth black people being honorable of when we can overcome the struggle.

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