Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Between the World and Me, Part III: (142 – 152)

[Between the World and Me]

Coates closes the book by reflecting on his visit with Prince Jones's mother. What aspect of the closing pages caught your attention most? Why or how so? Please provide a page citation.

15 comments:

Kaine C. said...

What caught my attention was how Dr. Jones acted when she received word about her son at the hospital. She said, "It was unlike anything I had felt before. It was extremely physically painful." She felt all of this, yet she didn't cry. She kept her composure because she knew that was what was needed. This caught my attention because this takes strength, not so much physical, but mental strength.

Roland Wooters said...

What truly caught my attention is how he described Dr.Jones mannerisms and posture, and gestures when talking about her son. As a parent, I could never imagine the pain of losing a child, especially during the prime of their life. Coates stated ," it was her sharp brown eyes, which welled but did not break" when describing Dr.Jones and the strength she possessed (pg. 142). It shows the strength that is within that woman, and it truly amazed me.

Joey Norwood said...

The quote "our moment is too brief, our bodies are too precious" on page 146 caught my attention. Despite the daily struggles and obstacles of this life we must always remember, we are only here briefly therefore,in midst of our daily routine we must find time for joy and peace, because life's to short to worry about anything else.

Joey N.

Trion T. said...

What I find most interesting is all the speak of "Dreamers", and the impact they will have on the world. I had to re-read because I was truly confused about who the dreamers were and what was so wrong about the dream they wanted. On page 151, he says "The Dream is the same habit that endangers the planet".
Now that I understand the Dream and who the Dreamers are, I still find it intriguing that Coates believes that people wanting to be something they aren't is so dangerous to the planet. Perhaps it is not meant in a literal sense, but this is a very interesting belief, nonetheless.

Brian Green said...

On page 145, "She spoke of how her children had been raised in the lap of luxury. This part caught my eye because she wanted her children to not live in poverty like she did growing up. She wanted the best for them, and did everything to make sure they were happy with expensive materials. No one wants their children to relive the life they had, and want them to be better than them with a better life. This was very important to her until Prince died in the same material item she bought him.

Jamal Sims said...

Towards the very end (p 151), Coates starts to talk about the “Dreamer”. What really intrigued me about this concept is Coates take on it. He states “The Dream is the same habit that endangers the planet.” In my opinion, he meant that people have many hopes and dreams about how the world could be a better place and how they can help implement such “dreams”; however many people don’t follow through with them and their aspirations are just left undone while the world continually becomes more crime-stricken and depleted.

Wole A said...

What really caught my attention was how despite hearing the news of her son Dr. Jones kept strong. She not only had to be strong for himself but, also for his son. Dr. Jones probably knew that if she acted in a defeated manner her son would do the same.

Robert F said...

The author spoke about how our country has forgotten them. Society looks past their past actions that leading to their luxuries. All the pain and suffering along the way. They ignore the bad to escape the guilt, so they can remain "above" black people (143).

Unknown said...

What caught my attention was the armor of God that sit in participants in the 1960's wore. What also stuck out to me was the phrase "the Dreamers of today would rather live wHite, than live free." One of my personal favorite quotes is, living in truth is painful, but living in lies is slavery. And it's better to be in pain than be in chains."

Jessie Carter said...

on page 146, Coates wrote, "Perhaps that was, is, the hope of the movement: to awaken the Dreamers, to rouse them to the fact of what their need to be white, to talk like they are white, to think that they are white, which is to think that they are beyond the design flaws of humanity, has done to the world." This captured my attention because i think about how some white people act as though these "design flaws" of humanity don't exist; how attempts to explain how they do, brings no realization. It's essentially a waste of time. The Dreamers also act as though they don't, so it is, in fact, a waste of time to try and wake them up.

Unknown said...

When Coates was talking to Dr. Jones about how her mother reacted to Prince's murder on page 145. The part where Dr. Jones says all it takes is one racist act stood out the most because its true. It is not put in to perspective often it only takes one and we are just forgotten so easily and often. Even with the the rise in black lives matter there's another story and another hashtag everyday and we cant even keep up.

Isaiah Blackburn said...

The passage leading up to page 142 stood out the most for me. Here, Ta-Nehisi Coates is discussing why Prince Jones decided to go to Howard instead of a big Ivy League school because he was only being seen as a representative for an entire race rather than as an individual. "Even when they succeeded, as so many of them did,they were singled out, made examples of, transfigured into parables of diversity. They were symbols and markers, never children or young adults." (142) This passage stood out for me because it has happened to me a few times. Some people would respect and recognize my accomplishments but just consider me an exception to the rule instead of changing their views.

Unknown said...

The thing that caught my attention the most was the way Dr. Jones acted once she recieved word of her son being in the hospital. To her the pain seemed so numbing and excruciating. This stood out to me because she seemed like a strong person, so this was able to take a tole on her. This just shows that everyone has something that can push them to their limits.

Jeremiah B. said...

One thing that jumped out at me was when Dr. Jones compared America to Rome and said this country was long passed it's glory days (p. 144). She also expressed the worry she had for her daughter bringing a son into America because of all the violence that has been going on in our country. I would agree with some of the accusations Dr. Jones is making and I have found myself pondering these same concerns.

Barry F. said...

What stood out to me in the closing pages was when Dr. Jones was describing the morning when she first heard about her son. Dr Jones said, "It was extremely physically painful...I felt sick. I felt like I was dying"(pg 144). I could not imagine what it feels like to lose such a prosperous son. She had just faced the harsh reality of the racism and oppression African Americans still experience to this day.