Between the World and Me is a letter from the author, Ta-Nehisi Coates, to his son. Coates teaches his son many lessons that he learned throughout his own life. One lesson that Coates’s son learns is that the law doesn’t protect black people. Another lesson that Coates teaches is that blacks need to be educated.
One lesson that Coates teaches his son is that the law doesn’t protect black people. Coates writes about the time he and his son went to see Howl’s Moving Castle. When they were leaving the theater, a white woman pushed his son. Coates conveys a sense of weakness, “I came home shook. It was a mix of shame for having gone back to the law of the streets mixed with rage-‘I could you been arrested!’ Which is to say: ‘I could take your body’ ”(Coates 94-95.) In this situation, Coates’s son was pushed by a white woman. …show more content…
Coates emphasizes the difference in power between the officer that killed Prince Jones and Prince Jones. “This officer, given maximum power, bore minimum responsibility. He was charged with nothing. He was punished by no one. He was returned to his work”(Coates 80.) Prince Jones, in many cases, is someone who could be considered a martyr to Coates, was killed because of his race. The officer who killed Jones said he was tracking a man who was five foot four and two hundred fifty pounds, Jones was six foot and two hundred eleven pounds. Even if somebody is black, once he puts on the uniform of an officer, he protected by the laws which normally wouldn’t protect him. Coates describes the officer as having maximum power and minimum responsibility. Someone with minimal responsibility and a lot of power is often considered reckless. This was the case for the officer that killed Prince Jones. However, as Coates writes, the officer received no punishment and returned to work. This is because the law protects the officer, who could afford to make a mistake like shooting the wrong
One lesson that Coates teaches his son is that the law doesn’t protect black people. Coates writes about the time he and his son went to see Howl’s Moving Castle. When they were leaving the theater, a white woman pushed his son. Coates conveys a sense of weakness, “I came home shook. It was a mix of shame for having gone back to the law of the streets mixed with rage-‘I could you been arrested!’ Which is to say: ‘I could take your body’ ”(Coates 94-95.) In this situation, Coates’s son was pushed by a white woman. …show more content…
Coates emphasizes the difference in power between the officer that killed Prince Jones and Prince Jones. “This officer, given maximum power, bore minimum responsibility. He was charged with nothing. He was punished by no one. He was returned to his work”(Coates 80.) Prince Jones, in many cases, is someone who could be considered a martyr to Coates, was killed because of his race. The officer who killed Jones said he was tracking a man who was five foot four and two hundred fifty pounds, Jones was six foot and two hundred eleven pounds. Even if somebody is black, once he puts on the uniform of an officer, he protected by the laws which normally wouldn’t protect him. Coates describes the officer as having maximum power and minimum responsibility. Someone with minimal responsibility and a lot of power is often considered reckless. This was the case for the officer that killed Prince Jones. However, as Coates writes, the officer received no punishment and returned to work. This is because the law protects the officer, who could afford to make a mistake like shooting the wrong