Ta-Nehisi's Between The World And Me

698 Words3 Pages

In the novel Between the World and Me by Ta- Nehisi Coates wishes to communicate with his son by describing his life experiences on what it means to inhabit a “black body” in America. Ta-Nehisi views society with white privilege, racial integration and a country we 're authority figures abuse their power by aggressively assaulting a “black body”. Throughout the novel, the author integrates not only past experiences but also the past history of being an African American in the United States but also the abuses and hallucinations they faced. In the passage Ta- Nehisi mentions the aggressiveness of police activity among African American and other races living in the “Ghetto”. Ta- Nehisi tells his son “ You know now, if you did not before, that the police department of your country has been endowed with the authority to destroy your body” (Pg 9). Ta- Nehisi describes this as a warning to his son that although the police are supposed to protect you and your …show more content…

The author wants his son to be aware of the country he grew up in calling it his home. Instead, Ta-Nehisi says this country is a place that judges you based on your skin color. Ta- Nehisi illustrates this by not only giving his son advice on what he should or should not do, but instead uses examples of his experiences, history, and the criminal justice system devaluing the “black body”. Ta- Nehisi ties all his experiences and history with police brutality, white privilege, and the segregation that helps continue racism within this country. Ta- Nehisi helps realize that although moments like Civil rights movement, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr, and slavery it still hasn’t changed how people view African Americans. Ta- Nehisi tone throughout the novel, wasn’t angry or disappointed but instead informs his experiences not only with his son but with the world, knowing it wouldn’t