The Beautiful Struggle Is a Memoir Which Depicts Ta-Neshisi Experiences as He Transitions Into Manhood

In the Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates, an African American born and raised in West Baltimore describes his beautiful struggle to manhood, the age of 18. Ta-Nehisi illustrates his transition to adulthood through the various influences portrayed in his life, for instance, his environment. They each affected his life differently and shaped him to who he is and with various events that occurred, like the Cold War, that had repercussion that indirectly affected him.

Ta-Nehisi describes multiple sources of knowledge in his life from school professors and “street professor” both having their own usage and importance. Within the Beautiful Struggle, the diverse knowledge and wisdom from pop cultural and the streets are influenced from historical forces which affect the environment Ta-Nehisi is raised in. The Beautiful struggle is a memoir which depicts Ta-Neshisi experiences and insights as he transitions into manhood. The audience can observe how Ta-Neshisi character can be described as an individual who is easily influenced by the environment that he is in.

Growing up in West Baltimore, Ta-Neshisi faced many problems that were due to his bad teaching from the street. Though his father taught him knowledge to shape him into a better person but the “the street professors” taught him different. Ta-Neshisi reference his older step-brother Big Bill, who at the beginning of his memoir can be describes as conceited but attempts to guide Ta-Neshisi with social presentation. Big Bill also found the street and music to be more interesting than pursuing an education which then grew on Ta-Neshisi. Though he appreciated both Ta-Neshisi thought “academic intelligence is overpraised and ultimately we are animals.”

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William Paul Coates, Big Bill and Ta-Neshisi father, is a Vietnam veteran and a Black Panther who was involved in the enlightenment of people’s mind. He valued awareness, regulation, and trust in which Ta-Neshisi regarded him as a Conscious man. Ta-Neshisi father has seven children to four different women and his father also had the same with multiple women and sisters. Even though Ta-Neshisi father had numerous children to be a development from his father who did no love and want to raise children with care which William did. The neighborhood that Ta-Neshisi describes in his story has been influenced by historical forces which have concluded in negative impacts.

For instance, in the 1970s, West Baltimore environment demonstrated repercussions that were known to be post effects of the Cold War such as in race population concentration in cities. According to the Census Bureau, from 1970 to 1980, the population decreased from 905,759 to 786,775 where Black became the majority at 54.8% (1872. Census of Population) The movement in population influenced the drugs, schools, and civil rights in the community. As Ta-Neshisi says, “When Crack hit Baltimore, civilization fell” (Page 29). There have been multiple articles such as “Everybody Must Get Stoned: The Origins of Modern Drug Culture in Baltimore” that describe the overwhelm usage of heroin and cocaine during the 1960s that a tremendously affected peoples’ lifestyles and increased the violence to obtain money to purchase drugs.

Even Though there was chaos “there were rules” that kept people in check when involved in such (Page 29). The shift in population affected the schools since as white people left most of the schools became black majority while the administration was still made up of whites. Various crisis occurred that affected the functionality of this such as the federal mandated desegregation plan from the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This affected the education being offered to the students since the teacher were focused on protesting against the federal policy.

Furthermore, the 1970s didn’t all conclude in devastation, but it was also the beginning of the Post-Civil Rights movement where numerous African-American were able to have a positive impact on businesses, academic, and politics. For example, Ta-Neshisi father was involved in the academic and obtained his degree and sought to educated others about the truth. He also attempted to pass on knowledge to his children and assisted in shaping them through lectures that would help them in their future. In addition, within the United States there were cultural forces that affects the neighborhood and events.

Pop cultural has greatly influenced the population by delivering a message that is able to reflect most people issues and have a common way to resolve it. For example, music from DMC, Public Enemy, and N.W.A. had a huge impact on the youth regarding the street life and portrayed a common message. Through Ta-Neshisi the audience can observe how he becomes in influences by the music and began to create poems to speak his mind. The 1970s and 1980s were filled with different forces that suppressed and incite Black people, and all these factors affected the neighborhood that Ta-Neshisi was raised in.

Through Ta-Neshisi memoir, the audience can perceive events that correlate with issues and controversies which influence his character. Most of the incidents that Ta-Neshisi is apart of are done in school. For instance, as he describes, “I raised my hand and mushed him in the face. ‘Don’t you ever yell at me again in your life.’” (Page 140). Ta-Neshisi had been asked to take a seat by his professor and the professor raised his voice on him since he was not cooperating.

So, Ta-Neshisi assaulted him to prove himself the stronger person and this was one of his first offense. The tension between the black student and the white faculty could have been an underlying effect of the population shift and Ta-Nehisi finally did something. Though his own intent might have been to better his self-image as he says, “so hyped on ego and image” (Page 140). Ta-Neshisi looked up to his big brother Bill and admired his way of life and the role that he had obtained in the streets.

As Ta-Neshisi says about Big Bill’s essential truth, “No matter what Civilization says, academic intelligence is overpraised and ultimately, we are animals. When I saw one of these true disciples, almost-men like my brother Bill, I knew there were vital things that I had missed. The Knowledge was taught from our lives’ beginnings, whether we realized it or not” (Page 36). Ta-Neshisi and Big Bill, at the time, were not good students and were more drawn to being educated on the street. They believed that real mindset is gained out of school where it matters for “people are animals” and it all comes down to mind.

Ta-Neshisi motives to act the way he does is dependent on the environment he is in and the people that have influenced him. Both reason for why he acts the way are altered by the historical forces such as post-effect of the Cold War which affected his neighborhood’s environment and people. The Beautiful Struggle is an effective piece of literature that describe the U.S. after the turbulent decades of the 1960s. Post repercussion from events like the Cold Ward and Civil Rights can be observe in the environment that Ta-Neshisi describes in his memoir.

Through his perspective the audience can observe the challenges that he faced and the difficulty it was to successed when you’re influenced by outside factors. Furthermore, Coates’ memoir perspective allows us to perceive the lifestyle of individuals in a neighborhood to detect how ongoing circumstance in a nation can affect anyone. Though there were turbulent events, people were able to use that energy to better benefit themselves and their family as observed by Ta-Neshisi father who wanted to the best for his family.

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