Free College Essays-Coates's Between The World And Me

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In the book, Between the World and Me, the author --- Coates describes his life growing up to show his son what his life was like. The book shares how these events in Coates life shaped him into the person he became. He talks about some of the experiences he had growing up as a black person and how those experiences ultimately affected him. The story focuses begins with him as a youth growing up in the Baltimore area and the hard lessons he learned on the streets and continues with his arrival at Howard University and how his experiences at the University shaped him. From there the story discusses his life up to his life up to adulthood, including the beginning of his own family. A big part of the story revolves around the struggles he had …show more content…
“Preservation of body” means to make sure you are safe physically and aware of your surroundings all of the time because only by always being alert and aware of your situation can you be safe. Initially, the message came from his parents who grew up during a different time than him when not being aware of the situation could put you in a life threatening position. As a child his parents taught him from their experiences and disciplined him whenever something happened to make sure he stayed safe. He also learned the importance of preserving his body by witnessing the life threatening situations other young men in the streets of Baltimore faced. At Howard, Coates learned that there were other ways to preserve his body including the nourishment of his mind and soul. After a while, he became more relaxed around his fellow students and developed a new view of the world. However, he lost that sense of peace when a police officer killed his friend Prince John. The death of his friend reiterated Coates point that black people are always in a constant danger of losing our bodies. After having a son, Coates mission did not change; rather he now had another body that needed to be protected in addition to preserving his
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