Between the World and Me Book Analysis Essay Sample

Ta-nehisi Coates, the author of Between the World and Me is an African-American man who wrote to his son, Samori to give him life advice. He presents new ideas about the world to him while using appeals to prove his claim. In this book, he tells Samori about the struggles of his upbringing in a rough neighborhood as a young black man. Coates also explains and gives reasoning to his views/life experiences on how African-Americans are treated in America. Coates does a great job of strengthening his claim to Samori, his son, that he needs to learn to navigate and live in this world as a black man in America using pathos and ethos. 

As Samoris father, Coates has a sense of credibility that is very unique, as a father figure, he is a trustworthy source that Samori can trust. Trying to be real and doing the best for your child is what a parental figure does, so most of Coates's advice carries a heavy and powerful meaning for Samori. Coates explains, “The struggle is in your name, Samori-you were named for Samori Toure, who struggled against French colonizers for the right to his own black body”(Coates, 68). The reason this is ethos is that even his name comes from a man who struggled so much and had to lead a different life from those around him as a black man. He had to set himself free and release himself from the chains of slavery and oppression, no man around him had done that, so he couldn't live the life of others. Here Samori might relate and come to terms with the fact that he needs to learn to live differently in America because of his race and because of the inclination others act on because of his roots. Coates gives a short overview of the oppression African-Americans have suffered through, “Never forget that we were enslaved in this country longer than we have been free. Never forget that for 250 years black people were born into chains-whole generations followed by more generations who knew nothing but chains”(Coates, 69). Coates has black ancestry and knows that his forefathers have gone through slavery; it is also taught in American history classes which gives him some credibility. Using this quote gives him credibility because he is a man whose ancestors were part of slavery for generations and suffered because of it. Here Coates explains that Samori’s ancestors have been oppressed in America not too long ago, he further sustains his claim that because of his ancestry he is looked differently upon in America and has to gain skills to combat the prejudice he will experience by others. As Samori's father, Coates provides his thoughts and emotional evidence to convince Samori that he needs to learn to live in this world as a black man. 

Coates also uses emotional language, to strengthen his claim and persuade Samori to believe that he needs to learn to live differently in this world in comparison to other Americans because of his black ancestry. Coates begins, “I love you, and I love the world, and I love it more with every inch I discover. But you are a black boy and you are responsible for your body in a way that other boys cannot know”(Coates, 70). This is pathos because Coates uses strong words like love to get Samori to understand he is giving him this advice because he wants his son to live a healthy life where knows the reality. Because of his ancestry, he is treated differently by those around him and forever will be, so he needs to understand this and act appropriately for his livelihood. Here he also gives him helpful advice that he has told him repeatedly to protect his own body, which might incite him to feel like he needs to learn to live like a black man in America and realize that accepting he is different because he is a black man is how he can truly live. Coates gives powerful advice to Samori, “You have to make your peace with the chaos, but you cannot lie. You cannot forget how much they took from us and how they transfigured our very bodies into sugar, tobacco, cotton, and gold”(Coates, 71). Here Coates uses more pathos because he tells him about how his ancestors were used for slavery and this might ignite an emotional response, as it is tragic that his ancestors were used for slave labor. Samori might begin to feel powerless for his ancestors and feel revulsion that his ancestors were treated so horribly for so long because of their race. This passage gives Samori insight into how white people in America viewed African Americans and will in turn move him to accept and agree with Coates's claim that he must learn to live like a black man in America. 

Coates makes a great argument, using ethos and pathos to convince Samori that he needs to learn to live in this world as a black man in America. He uses Ethos as a way to gain credibility as Samori’s father and convince him that his claim is the advice he should take because he knows his ancestry as a black man in America. Again he uses ethos to prove the point that he is a black boy and his name comes from a revolution against slavery, so he too should be great like the man who he is named after and accept that he needs to learn to live like a black man. Then Coates uses pathos to incite emotions out of Samori to understand why he needs to learn to live like a black man in America, and he mostly does so by explaining his ancestry and how unfair his forefathers had been treated in America. Overall Coates uses emotional wording and his personal stories to convince Samori that he needs to learn to live in this world as a black man in America.