1.) Considering all of the book Between the World and Me, what aspect of the book was the most eye-opening to you? Was there a particular chapter or theme that you felt was the most helpful, most personal, or the most interesting? You may answer this in any way you like. Of course, the 250-word minimum still applies.
The second question for this week is about the theme of Struggle in the book Between the World and Me.
Throughout the book, Coates talks of The Dream and The Struggle. For him, The Dream of equality is good, but it can be a distraction if we just dream and dont also Struggle for justice and equality. In some parts of the book, he goes even farther by saying to his son that The Struggle is the only thing that is guaranteed in life. Coates tells us that African-Americans (and we can also do our own mental work to think about other racial minorities, too!) are faced with The Struggle because racial equality does not yet exist. He tells his son that he cannot promise him equality or change, only The Struggle.
There is a well-known paradox in the social sciences and humanities, called Ghandis Paradox. It is: Nothing you do as an individual matters, but it is vitally important you do it anyway. By this, we mean that the world wont change just by one persons actions alone, but that the world can never change if you, as an individual, dont act. It is a paradox that reminds us that society is larger than all of us, but it is still made up of each of us as individuals. We all exist at the nexus of our own individual actions and the power of the collective social around us.
2.)Is Coates being realistic or optimistic by saying to his son that only The Struggle, and not The Dream, is guaranteed? Can reminding us of this struggle be a hopeful message or is it something that makes us feel defeated? Is there any similarity between The Struggle that Coates writes about and Ghandis Paradox, as described above? Why or why not? Does Ghandis Paradox invite people of all races to enter into The Struggle, or can this particular Struggle only be experienced by minorities? (You dont have to answer all of these questions. Just choose the ones that help you form your response.)