In Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Coates tells his son about his life in the United States by providing him with a letter in which describes what life is like and the difficulties faced when living in a black body. The main theme of the novel depicting such a lifestyle is the disembodiment of African Americans through the American social structure. America's social structure causes blacks to live in fear and makes them skeptical of America. To be disembodied means to be detached from your body. It makes individuals feel opposed; feeling useless; feeling like they aren't part of the world. By tackling the theme of disembodiment, Coates is able to show the destruction of the black community and teach his teenage son the reality of being black in the United States. In this article I will provide examples of how black communities have been disembodied through exploitation and how this has led to their destruction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The American social structure has created fear in Black communities because of the injustices they face and the social stigma inflicted on them. Coates demonstrates this when he first mentions the idea of police brutality. He states: “Destroyers will rarely be held accountable. Mostly they will receive pensions…All this is common to blacks. And all this is old for black people. No one is held accountable” (Coates, 2015, 9). Black communities should not be accustomed to this idea of inequality and injustice when it comes to American policies. They have to address these issues to the point where they already know who will favor the case; white. This isn't just police brutality, it's also racial discrimination. Black people are disembodied and cast aside. “[It] is a kind of terrorism, and its threat alters the orbit of all our lives, and, like terrorism, its distortion is intentional” (Coates, 2015, 114). Their voices always remain unheard. America is known to be an equal protection country, but in the case of African Americans it is not. The laws do not protect them as they should and blacks are aware of this disturbing nature. Coates demonstrates this when he states: “The law did not protect us. And now, in your time, the law has become an excuse to stop and search you, that is, to encourage assault on your body” (Coates, 2015, 17). Police officers tend to shy away from any legal issues regarding the treatment of civilians. Initially the police have no right to inflict any harm on anyone during an investigated scene. They have set rules to follow and officers tend to abuse the authority they have over citizens. It makes the policing system unfair and violates its motto of “keeping people safe.” This further leads to disembodiment, as Black people feel unwanted due to such mistreatment. They are afraid of white people and authoritarian abuse. Additionally, Coates also mentions how he had to “adapt” new ways to survive and not be disembodied on the streets. He had to learn to protect himself and “protect [his] body” (Coates, 2015, 23). Coates “memorized a list of forbidden blocks [and] learned the smell and feel of fighting time” (Coates, 2015, 23). As a concerned black man, he needed to be prepared and needed to know where the attack occurred. He also wrote to his son: "When I was about your age, every day a third of my brain was interested in who I walked to school with, our precise number, the way we walked, the number of times we which I smiled at." …I practiced thestreet culture, a culture primarily concerned with the preservation of the body” (Coates, 2015, 24). He is aware of every step he takes and how he looks. He knows how other African Americans see him and how white people see him. This concern also shows how fear has crept into the daily lives of African Americans. Coates is aware that racism has not disappeared and wants to protect his son. Even as an adult, Coates faced disrespect when a white man yelled at him, “'I could have arrested you'” (Coates, 2015, 94) for standing up for his son to walk where he wanted. White people are aware of the gap between the races and choose to take advantage of it. Black people do not have the chances in life that other ethnicities get and because of this their lives are surrounded by fear. He “confesses [that] [he is] afraid. And [he has] no God to sustain [him]” (Coates, 2015, 113). Coates uses these cases to show the fragility of the black community and teach his son the reality of life in a black body. He wants to prepare his son for the unreasonable, but encourage him to move forward without fear despite the difficulties he will face. Not only has fear emerged in black communities living in the United States, but America's social structure has also led blacks to be skeptical. of the nation. The United States is seen as a country that protects everyone and is home to the American dream, yet it fails to convey this aspect. This nation has created a history of destroying Black bodies and minds. Coates calls it a “system that makes your body fragile” (Coates, 2015, 18). He reminds his son, “Here's what I wish you [son] knew: In America, it's tradition to destroy the black body: it's a heritage” (Coates, 2015, 103). People never realize the truth behind America given its vision as an exceptional country and for this reason American never accepts their slights. It is not the nation Coates expected it to be. Instead, he sees it as full of hate and crime. He states: America believes itself to be exceptional, the greatest and noblest nation ever to exist, a lone champion standing between the white city of democracy and the terrorists, despots, barbarians, and other enemies of civilization... And so it is It's easy to look away, live with the fruits of our history and ignore the great evil done in the name of all of us. But you and I never really had that luxury (Coates, 2015, 8-9). Because of this disillusionment, black communities in the United States have become skeptical of America. If he followed his standards, African Americans would feel accepted and be treated as part of the world. Coates also takes issue with American schooling and how it too has false misperceptions. “I loved some of my teachers. But I can't say that I really believed any of them... I had the feeling that the school was hiding something, drugging us with a false morality so that we wouldn't see, so that we wouldn't ask ourselves: because - for us and only us - it is the other? side of free will and free spirits an assault on our bodies? (Coates, 2015, 26). Coates' questions were never answered as the others never bothered with curiosity. Americans were taught what they needed to be taught to the exclusion of concerns and neglect of reality, portraying America with this sense of disbelief. Coates only wants what's best for his son and informs him that he is: “…a black boy, and he has to be responsible for [his] body in a way that other boys can't know. Indeed, [he] must be responsible for the worst actions of other black bodies, which, in some way, will always be attributed to him. And [he] must be responsible for the bodies of the powerful – the policeman who [him].
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