In The Fire Next Time Analysis

In the Fire Next Time by James Baldwin and Between the World and Me by Ta – Nehisi Coates, religion is a subject that is being questioned by both writers. Baldwin directs his essay to his nephew so he can come to the realization what it is like to be an African -American back in his time. Similar to Baldwin, Coates directs his letters to his son Samori with the purpose to teach him how to live in a black body as a black person. Both writers share their experiences and views to their family members hoping that they will learn how to cope with the lifestyle that they once lived. Each writer has similar, yet different opinions on religion, fear, history, and race. Between the World and Me and Baldwin’s book compare what African Americans face …show more content…
Unlike Baldwin, Coates parents never took him to a church as a child; therefore, he has more of a closed mind towards religion. He states, “I think they are fastened to their god, a god whom I cannot know and in whom I do not believe But, God or not, the armor is all over them, and it is real.” (Coates, 142.) Coates does not understand why people are part of a religion. People that have a close connection with God believe that they are protected by him. However, those people are their own protection according to him. To Coates religion is not the solution to be protected. He believes that it’s actually blinding them from having their own protections as blacks. . Coates addresses the issue that is being ignored by religion and states, “I knew some of this even then sitting in ranking chapel, even if I could not yet express it. So, forgiving the killer of Prince Jones would have seems irrelevant to me. The killer was the direct expression of all his country’s beliefs. And raised conscious in rejection of a Christian God, I could see now higher purpose in prince’s death.” (Coates, 79) In other words, Coates emphasizes how being part of religion blinds society from racial issues that are encountered in the world. Coates states that he would never forgive Prince`s killer. However, religious people practice forgiveness, love, and peace among each other; therefore, leading to forgive people for their actions. In other words, God is saying to forgive regardless of the circumstance. This is why Coates believes society is blinded from the black issues due to religious beliefs. He suggest that if all sins were always forgiven, then every bad gesture against a black person would be absolutely acceptable. If everyone were to be religious in society, the dangers in the world would never come to an end. Moreover, Coates argues