You are the Critic!
Did you enjoy reading Between the World and Me? Why/why not? Did you enjoy studying Between the World and Me? Why/why not? What is your biggest takeaway from the essay? Should it be read in high school? Should it be included in the American canon? Why/why not?
While reading Between the World and Me, I was able to open my mind to new perspectives and perceptions. The essay helped educate me on the systemic racism and corruption that lies within every sector of our nation. The biggest takeaway within each passage, is the understanding of how people tend to overpower others and the form in which you must protect yourself and overcome any obstacles. I truly recommend this book to any young adult that is interested in learning much more about the roots of our society and its harm. Furthermore, including this book within our school curriculum is the best choice to be made, in order to break the barrier of ignorance and spread acknowledgment.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Between the World and Me a lot. I say this because, I was able to understand what kind of message Coates' was trying to tell the readers as I 've witnessed the things he talks about in his story in the real world. When it came to studying the book, I didn't enjoy it at all. The things that Coates would say would have so much more deeper meaning that I couldn't understand/comprehend, which made the reading experience annoying and confusing. Overall, this book is good. and I like the connections it makes to the real world that many people can relate to. This book should be read in high school as well as young adults should be getting their hands on this as you can learn a lot from reading it and is generally a good book to read.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Between the World and Me because I feel like it allowed me to understand things I haven't been able to understand before and it gave me new perspectives on things I already knew. Coates was able to express what he wanted in a way that was confusing but different and nice to read at the same time. Studying the book was a bit confusing but it's what allowed me to understand what he is trying to say. I think this book should be read in high school because people are still young and this book may be able to broaden their thinking and views on certain things a little bit. It might allow them to question what's real and whats not and understand the world a bit more. Besides being educational, I just enjoyed reading the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree when you said it was confusing to study this book. I felt the same way.
DeleteYes, I enjoyed reading the book in between the world and me because it felt like an eye-opener. Through the reading, I was able to gain a better understanding of his perspective of being black in America through his stories & experiences. Studying the book was confusing for me because he would use a lot of big vocabulary words and reference a lot of people that I didn't know. But other than it was very interesting because I was able to understand his ideas about the American dream and how much his “black body” was in constant danger. My biggest takeaway from this essay is that the American Dream is built off of the destruction of others and their ignorance blinds them from accepting the truth. Yes, this book should be read in high school because the author discusses many topics like violence and racism that we need to be aware of. Lastly yes it should be included in the American canon because this book spread an important message.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it. To some extent, I appreciate how it covers the truth that we are alluded to by the vision of America and the desire to be white in Between the World and Me. However, I believe Coates gives whites too much power by claiming that there is nothing a black person can do to defend himself against racism. I also believe that his experiences, as a result of how he grew up, have an impact on American perceptions on race. Racism still remains in today's world, despite the fact that times have changed. I like his multiple anecdotes in this book, and each one taught me something new. The format of this book is epilepsy, which he chose in order for us to develop a connection to the characters in the novel. It was a nice read, but I didn't like it because of how complicated it became with numerous tales and multiple characters. High school students should read this book since it is eye-opening and lets you see the reality for what it is. America was not established on justice; rather, it was built on destroying the black body, which is the argument Coates is attempting to make.
ReplyDeleteI can’t say that I enjoyed reading Between The World And Me. However, it does provide a fresh perspective on race and racism. More specifically, Coates’ idea that there is no such thing as race. This idea really stood out to me because I’ve never heard it before. We hear the same old claims in the media, but I never heard any outlets/people denounce the idea of race. On the contrary, I did not enjoy studying the book. I’m aware that Coates has so many deep ideas within his story, but I unfortunately did not understand some of them to the fullest extent. My biggest takeaway from Between The World And Me is that we should not blame others for having different opinions, since we need to take into account their childhood, surroundings and young adult experiences. Understanding this allows us to see and reason with why Coates has the opinions he presented in his essay. With that said, I think this book should be read in high schools. Between The World And Me gives the reader a taste of the negatives in society, and this is important because teenagers need to see and know their surrounding world in different colors. I think of canonized literature to be a piece that can withstand time. I do not think Between The World And Me should be considered canon, even though high-schoolers should read it. This book contains controversial opinions, and societal perspectives change very quickly. In a few years, society's opinions on race, racism, and the essence of the American Dream can change drastically, and Coates’ opinions can become outdated.
ReplyDeleteI slightly enjoyed reading Between the World and Me. It's not something I would read on my free time but it's a good book. I am glad I got a chance to read it though. However I did enjoy studying it. I liked being able to see someone else's perspective on life and the world around them. If read/analyzed correctly you could see that Coates' told stories, he taught lessons. I'm not sure what would be my biggest takeaway from the book. I do believe that high schoolers should read this book. It's good for both English and understanding the real world. I also believe that it should be in the American canon because it's a book that many need to read.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Between the World and Me because it opened me up to a new perspective. I only know what it is like to live life in America through my eyes. However, reading this book helped me understand what life in America is like through Coates' eyes, a black person. Although I'm not a black person, I feel as though I can resonate with Coates' story. I partially enjoyed studying the book. Coates uses a lot of rhetorical and literary devices which makes it harder for me to understand. However, it was interesting to learn about all the different things that he references such as his anecdotes. My biggest takeaway from this essay is that you are your own protector. Coates repeatedly mentions how bodies are being stolen which is why you must try your hardest to protect your own. This book should be read in high schools because it gives a new perspective on things. I also think this should be added in the American canon because it's a book that contains the reality of the world. Many people need to be more knowledgable about this reality.
ReplyDeleteBetween the world and me is a book i appreciated but cant say i particularly enjoyed reading. It gave me a new insight on the lives of other black Americans and put some of my incoherent thoughts into words. I appreciate the book for its raw honesty and bluntness. Coates did not hold back when writing this book. It felt very personal and almost uncomfortably so. At times, it felt like Coates was so caught up in his thoughts that i’m being left out, and can’t really understand what he is saying. I enjoyed some aspects of studying this book but majority of the time my brain was blank and my thoughts were empty when it came to answering questions. This book was too hard to understand and rlly dive myself into. Despite my apprehensions about this book i believe it’s a book that should be read by everyone. It’s easy to be caught up in your own bubble of thoughts and narrow minded views. Reading a book like this pops that bubble and makes you more aware of how other people live and what they have to go through daily-something some of us can’t even imagine.
ReplyDeleteI would like to start this off by saying I normally don’t enjoy reading about racism and white America vs. black America non-fiction stories but I did enjoy reading about Coates point of view in Between the World and Me. I liked his perspective on white people and the dreamers, the destruction of black bodies, also hearing about the situations he’s been in. How he saw things differently once he got of his shell of only knowing about where he is from. I love and admire Coates honesty, it was brusque and I liked it because he didn’t feel the need to sugarcoat or want to sugarcoat anything. This book should be read in high schools, it will give students a different of understanding of the world we live in and I think it will also help educate some students as well. I believe this book should be included in the American canon, the book’s explanation of black American culture is detailed and relatable.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Between the World and Me because it brought to light many important points about racism and white supremacy that may be somewhat ignored today. It made me realize and think about how much history has impacted society today. There are many social constructs and ideas that segregate so many people today around the world. That is why I also enjoyed studying it. I learned about redlining which I never knew about before. It was interesting to discover because it explains a lot about why Black Americans may have oppression in certain places and neighborhoods. I also learned about the idea of race and how it basically isn't real. It was made up because people unfortunately wanted more power over others. My biggest takeaway from the essay is that the world has developed, changed and progressed overtime, however not as much as one may think. Black Americans still may live under fear and people around the world still are segregated. Our world has a long way to go and one person may not change everything but it will take a plethora of time. This is a great book for high school, for students can analyze many literary devices and think about society and how it was in the past and present. I believe it should be American canon because Coates demonstrates his experiences as a black American and his perspective on life. Even though many people may find some topics controversial it is his real experiences and in hindsight making people aware of the world we live in today.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Between the World and Me, it was a book that I didn’t really expect to happen too. The experiences, pasts, thoughts, and feelings of Coates just got to me real deep. It was nice reading what he, himself feels about the society forced him to be. I also enjoyed studying the book. It allowed me to get a deeper understanding of this unit and topic, so overall it was okay. My biggest takeaway from this book is that one’s experience would be a long lasting pain. For example, Coates thought that his viewpoint of one place is just the world, for everything, everyone. Therefore, it’s important to learn that the smallest things can affect a person in many different, big ways. Furthermore, i think yea, this book should be introduced to people and read Ik high school because it’s like Coates perspective of the world. It’s always better to know more than to know less, anyways.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading Between the World and Me, it gave me a new perspective on how to look and feel about being black in America and how being black can affect you. I feel like my biggest take away was that as a person I need to find a balance for taking care of myself in the body that I was given. The one thing I didn't appreciate was how he made the ending seem a little hopeless but I feel like Coates had a reasoning behind ending his novel the way he did. I feel like this is a good book to read in high school it'll open a lot of minds and help people gain perspective. I feel like the topic can be controversial but the message is very important.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy reading Between the World and Me because throughout the book I learned a new perspective, as it opened my eyes to the idea of being "black" and "white", and the struggles that people of color go through as they are constantly on the lookout to protect their body. I am a Latina female so I have to be on the lookout for myself because of perverts out there but not because of my color. I gained knowledge about Redlining and many injustices black people ave to go through. I did enjoy studying Between the World and Me because I learned about racism and white supremacy , and how it affects many. Reading this essay was okay, as I didn't know some terms and references but once I learned the meaning, I felt as if I were in Coate's shoes. Coates strongly used pathos in his book, in order for his audience to feel the pain and struggle of Black people. My biggest takeaway from the essay is that we all need to be informed about racism and how we are the ones letting it occur. However, Coates at the same time puts us as society down by losing hope on us. He gives a hopeless message to his son, and nobody can tell the future so sending out a message like that is holding back black people and everyone in general, giving out a negative message. Overall, Coates tells us about how we all need to open our eyes to racism and really learn the truth. This should definitely be read in high school and be included in the American canon because it informs us about poc experiences and we should all know different perspectives and then decide what we will do with it.
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DeleteIt’s not typically what I read but I enjoyed reading Between the World and Me. I learned new perspectives and it gave me a new outlook on issues black people face in America. I liked how he spoke about his personal experiences and gave his opinions. My favorite part about his writing is how he didn’t sugar coat any of what he experienced; giving the real full story. I always appreciate when authors talk about what they’ve seen or what they’ve directly dealt with. It really brings everything to life and it makes me feel more deeply connected to the writer and the message they’re trying to send. I also like the turn his essay took where his own perspectives changed and he had an “eye opener”.
ReplyDeleteThe book "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a great book and I believe it should be read atleast once in your life. The book is great but I would probably never read it again because I don't particularly like the genre. However I like the way Coates sets the tone for the book because he doesn't sugar coat the topic he discusses. He touches topic such as race, racism, oppressions and the American Dream. He does it all from his perspective. He also wrote this essay to his son and discusses the fear he has as his son gets older. There is a couple topics that really reached out to me and also topics that I didn't necessarily agree with. Coates doesn't seem optimistic about the future for the people of color but it is his opinion. I recommend the book to people willing to become more open to topics such as oppressions, race, racism and hopes from the perspective of a person of color.
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