By illustrating Prince's beauty, Coates is making his murder even more unnerving, where the alliteration of “brown” and “beautiful” emphasises the violation of nature when having his physical appearance destroyed that way. The graphic description of Prince's organs 'lung, kidney and liver,' combined with 'mangled' highlights the brutality and complete destruction of Prince's physical form - nonetheless, he juxtaposes this brutality with the description of Prince's face: 'lean, brown and beautiful' (Coates, 2015, p.

Picturing this as the body natural, his language is distressing and violent. As Coates himself states, 'they destroyed his body, scorched his shoulders and arms, ripped open his back, mangled lung, kidney and liver' (Coates, 2015, p. However, if we inquire Coates' use of the body as the body politic for his entire community, then the book serves as a warning to his son of the dangers of being an African American and how ubiquitous his experience is with police brutality, racism and feeling the lack of control the community has in creating an equal and fair society as they are kept undereducated.Ĭoates' most shocking thoughts on the body are when he describes the murder of his friend Prince Jones by the Virginia Police. When analysing the central relevance of the body in Between the World and Me it would be easy to view Coates as using the body natural, meaning his own physical body, as opposed to the body politic, reflecting a vast concern about the possession and protection of it that could mirror someone who wants to be kept alive in danger. Coates remarks Malcom X's constant 'evolution' toward the truth that was 'outside the boundaries of his life, his body,' and it helped Coates to take 'total possession of my body' (Coates, 2015, p.

He also explains his cultural awakening when attending the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Howard University, where he discovers the ideas of Malcolm X. This being essentially his autobiography, Coates details his experiences as an African American man focusing on the racism and oppression he faces from society and, specifically, from the police. The social implication of the body is a central motif to Ta-Nehisi Coates' open letter to his son Between the World and Me.

Coates between the world and me