tallahassee coates between the world and me

If a Black man is present, he is often given a voice where he speaks as the antagonist or is silenced by his environment. Yet, the actual voice of the Black men is absent. This is, most times, to the detriment of Black men. Most works, especially American literature, that describe experiences within urban communities are often filled with stereotypes and stigmas of Black people. This letter is an attempt to disseminate some of the knowledge Coates has collected over the years to his son.īetween the World and Me is a work that should be read because it gives a voice to the Black male experience without these experiences being told by someone who isn’t a Black man.

He wants him to become an intelligent Black man who is able to comprehend what it means to be Black in America.

Coates feels responsible for his son’s education as a Black man in America. Another important idea and theme in Between the World and Me is Fatherhood. Coates talks about “the Dream” is referring to the “American Dream.” He describes it as “perfect houses with nice lawns” and a general sense of accomplishment and well-being that African-Americans rarely achieve because of the lack of privilege. Coates wants his son to understand what it means to be a Black man in today’s times. He describes how vulnerable black bodies are to police brutality, street fighting, and drug abuse. Coates disputes that America was built on the backs of slaves and that being Black in America will make him a constant target. Similarly, Coates introduces the idea that black people’s bodies “don’t belong to them,” drawing attention to the extreme negative effects that the unfair and racist system within America has.īetween the World and Me is a novel about race. While the American dream has traditionally represented the idea that anybody from any background can achieve their goals, Coates’ subverts these ideas though showing how only white people can achieve “the Dream,” emphasizing how they are able to continue to benefit from slavery, racism, and oppression within the United States. Coates uses the metaphor of “the Dream” within the novel to highlight inequalities. Coates reflects on many issues within the book, including the school system, the police, and street life.

The novel is semi-autobiographical and recounts the narrator’s experiences growing up Black in inner-city Baltimore. The novel is written in two parts first as a letter from a father to his son, then later as a letter from the same man to his nephew. Click for catalog link.īetween the World and Me is a 2015 novel by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Tallahassee coates between the world and me