Wednesday, February 19, 2014

The Beautiful Struggle, Chapter 3

[The Beautiful Struggle]

At one point in chapter 3 of The Beautiful Struggle, Coates states, “slowly I came to understand why these boys needed to wear capes, masks, and muscle suits between bars. Slowly I came to feel that I was not the only one who was afraid” (102). What’s one thing in particular that he mentions that you think assisted him in understanding why black boys needed to wear masks? Please provide a page number.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the lyrics on page 102 assisted him in his understanding. The lyrics begin at, "They fought back.." -Stephen K.

Nicholas M. said...

"They fought back with civil rights that scarred the soul, it took the sight" (page 102). This helped him understand why black boys needed to wear mask. From what I interpret, I felt the reason why the black boys needed to wear mask was because they were afraid. Afraid of speaking out on the oppression felt from society towards african americans.

Unknown said...

I think the fact that Black Panthers, people who were trying to right the wrong of their communities, were being persecuted assisted Coates (and his protagonist) in understanding why black boys needed to wear masks. The bottom paragraph of page 79 narrates how a Panther was unjustly imprisoned. One must wear a mask whether they are a positive vigilant, or a street thug.

Unknown said...

In Chapter 3, it takes him time to understand why the boys need to wear masks. He repeats the lyrics, "They fought back with civil rights That scarred the soul, it took the sight" (102). I think the mask is a symbol in this chapter. The mask is worn to hide the fear behind society's attitude toward African Americans.
-B.Nigeda

Joey N. said...

In my opinion the one thing that helped him come to the understanding that black boys need to wear a mask was on page 102 when the text stated "They fought back with civil rights, that scarred the soul, it took the sight". This lyric really opened his eyes to what was really going on in the world around him.