Rhetorical Analysis Author Ta-Nehisi Coates in his book Between the World and Me discusses impactful racial issues in American history and educates his son on the past and current realities of being a black American. At the beginning of the book, Coates imposes the question: “How do I live freely in this black body?” (Coates 12). Although he believes that this question is unanswerable, Coates’ purpose is to express his deepest concerns for his son and to help him understand his personal experiences as a black man. He achieves his purpose by incorporating rhetorical skills such as ethos, pathos, and logos. Coates has been a successful journalist and writer for several years. He previously worked for The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and O …show more content…
Anaphora: “Here there were African drummers assembling in Union Square. Here there were dead office towers, brought to life at night by restaurants buried within that served small kegs of beer and Korean fried chicken. Here there were black girls with white boys, and black boys with Chinese-American girls, and Chinese-American girls with Dominican boys, and Dominican boys with Jamaican boys and every other imaginable combination” (Coates 92). 5. Anaphora: “I did not die in my aimless youth. I did not perish in the agony of not knowing” (Coates 129). 6. Allusion: “Our current politics tell you that should you fall victim to such an assault and lose your body, it somehow must be your fault. Trayvon Martin’s hoodie got him killed. Jordan Davis’ loud music did the same. John Crawford should never have touched the rifle on display. Kajieme Powell should have known not to be crazy” (Coates 130). 7. Epistrophe: “Think of your mother, who had no father. And your grandmother, who was abandoned by her father. And your grandfather, who was left behind by his father” (Page 82). 8. Personification: “But now your mother had gone and done it, and when she returned her eyes were dancing with all the possibilities out there, not just for her but for you and for me” (Coates
Coates want the American to be aware of America’s history and the racial oppression and how the mistreat black populations has played in making America the country it is today. However America has claimed otherwise, that the black populations did not play a crucial role in America. Ta-Nehisi Coates contends, that the leads
In the article, he states, “casual wrath and random manglings, the gnashing of heads and brains blown out over the river as the body seeks to escape. It must be rape so regular as to be industrial.” He includes this quote in the article to give the audience an understanding of how blacks were handled during slavery. He is trying to bring out an outrage of anger out the blacks. Coates exaggeration of emotion is used to make the reader aware of the way blacks were treated nd its intended to make them outrage in anger.
Coat’s perspective on the incident of the death of Trayvon Martin is explained in a sarcastic way, showing that Obama is avoiding the racial conflict. “Part of Obama’s genius is a remarkable ability
Jerrione Mosley In the book Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a letter to his son revealing the reality of life, growing up as a black man. Coates mostly focused on how black lives and bodies lacked value in America and could be possibly destroyed or taken away at any time. He also talked about “The Dream”, which is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The lack of values and importance for the black race is highly in effect.
In section two of Ta-nehisi Coates book “Between the World and Me,” he moves forward to discuss the evident issue of social justice. I feel section two of the text is the climax of the book. Coates elaborates on the event that had taken place when he was arrested for no reason which made him aware of his body being vulnerable while sharing the anger of Prince Jones death, he expresses that Jones should not have been subjected to such an absurd death, which was committed by a black person. Jones had all the aspects of a well-rounded African American such as, highly educated and not involved in the streets. Realistically, no black man is not safe of the violent vagaries performed by the police; a black man body can be destroyed at any given time.
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.
He talks about how those who believe they are white are essentially doing the “theft” from the bodies of the black. By using example from the American history and some recent disputes between the police and the black, he seems to express hope, but then he realized there’s real hope. The law enforcement and black Americans are seen by Coates as mistrust, sadness, and hopelessness because he knows it’s not all right but he has t
Honesty is essential in the quest for freedom. In Between the World and Me, Coates tells his son the truth, without fear, without repression, and without appeasement. Coates doesn’t write as a spokesperson for the black community, but he writes knowing that he will be a spokesperson not matter where he is or what he does. This a reality black people must deal with every day. Coates uses the language he does not because of the fact that it will be read as more than his words, but because they are his words regardless.
The Horizontal World Rhetorical Analysis In a 2006 memoir about her home state of North Dakota, author Debra Marquart describes both the clichéd landscape and the often-unnoticed greatness of the region. Not only is Debra Marquart’s memoir a personal account, it is also supported with historical knowledge of the area. This factual information and personal experience establishes a sense of credibility between the author and reader. Marquart characterizes the North Dakota atmosphere in which she grew up by using allusions, imagery, common conventionalized ideas, and historically factual events.
This altercation started when Coates became bored and disruptive in the class where it led to law enforcement being present to have more control of the situation (Coates 2008, pg. 141). Although Coates was a very bright intellectual, it is obvious to see that he was not present when in class but was very engaged with the world of books and music, outside of the classroom. Young Coates was not aware of the power of “knowledge” alone. He did not understand that without “conscious” of what is to be fought for. His mind was more focus on the lust for making his mark that he had not considered society’s view of a black male and where the origin of fear
Coates is frequently lauded as one of America’s most important writers on the subject of race today, but this in fact undersells him: Coates is one of America’s most important writers on the subject of America today. This distinction might sound glib but is worth making, not least of all because Coates repeatedly informs us that he isn’t much interested in “race” as a subject of reflection in itself. “Race is the child of racism, not the father,” he writes—while race is a fiction of power, racism is power itself, and very
Superman and Me is an inspirational and moving passage that effectively uses rhetoric to develop a strong story of an indian boy who used reading to overcome the stereotype of being expected to fail. Sherman Alexie, the author, was a poor young Indian boy living on a reservation his dad loved reading so his house was filled with books and he loved reading books this passage explains how reading saved his life. Sherman uses ethos, pathos, and rhetorical strategies such as hyperbole, anaphora, tone shift, parallelism, and zeugma. Sherman Alexie strongly uses strong ethos to develop his argument. In the background paragraph Sherman uses ethos.
He depicts how people just glaze over them as if they had done something to deserve it. As Ta-Nehisi Coates recounts his childhood, He entails how there would be no question about the murders of young black people. He tells the tale of how officers of the law destroyed your body and were faced with no consequences when he
Slavery is over therefore how can racism still exist? This has been a question posed countlessly in discussions about race. What has proven most difficult is adequately demonstrating how racism continues to thrive and how forms of oppression have manifested. Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, argues that slavery has not vanished; it instead has taken new forms that allowed it to flourish in modern society. These forms include mass incarceration and perpetuation of racist policies and societal attitudes that are disguised as color-blindness that ultimately allow the system of oppression to continue.
He first asks, from the African Americans’ perspective, “what need of education, since we must always cook and serve?” followed by, from the white’s perspective, “what need of higher culture for half-men?” The effect of this rhetorical questioning is that the reader sees the effect that prejudice has on African Americans—they lose hope and are degraded by