Comparing Baldwin's Between The World And Me

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Recommended: Comparing the writings of James Baldwin

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ novel Between the World and Me is the descendant of Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. It is the next in the series of great novels that reflect on the narratives of black people in America. He explores the idea of the black body and how it is in danger. But, the most powerful message that Coates gives to the coming of age black youth is that despite knowing that danger, we must live life without fear. Black youth have their innocence stripped of them at an early age. We are exposed to so much hatred. There is hatred from outside world, which can manifest itself in the form of police brutality, racism, micro-aggressions, and messages from the media. Or it can be internalized self-hatred, which stems from the household and others within the culture. But either or, black youth have to learn to protect themselves from a dangerous world. And by knowing we have to protect ourselves, we become afraid of the world, and we have this fear that we cannot be our full selves. We feel limited, because no matter we do, we will be judged, criticized, or killed. And the only way to avoid that is to fit into the mold that society has made for us. Despite this push for black kids to …show more content…

When our parents tell us to “address the police by sir or ma’am, sit up straight, and don’t move too quickly, we ask ourselves why? It is in that moment we realize it is because that the world does not love us and wants us dead. This epiphany hardens us and strips us of our innocence and ability to float through the world. We are weighed down by the weight of hatred towards blacks. Our only chance of being able to free our minds is to live without fear of judgement, and without fear of persecution. Because if we do, we will always be looking behind our backs, overanalysing everything that is said to us, second guessing the work that we do, and never truly be able to trust the

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