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American Girl

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What is the theme of Ta Nehisi-Coates’s profile?

The theme of the profile circulates around the idea that Michelle Obama embodies true American values and goals. The writer touches on Obama’s history and childhood to show that she has American culture deeply rooted in her from her humble beginnings.

Is there an overarching narrative?

The article starts with Obama’s beginnings in order to show the reader that she comes from a humble background, just like most of us. The writer includes information on the black population in Chicago as well as information on blue collar working families.

What surprises Coates about Michelle Obama?

Coates is surprised by how open Michelle Obama is about her past and how real she is in her speaking. She does not try to smooth over anything, and states exactly how she feels.

How does Coates conceptualize Michelle in the context of his own background growing up in Baltimore?

Coates notes in his piece that Michelle has not been negatively affected by racial and economic issues around her area. He sees that Michelle Obama’s family was able to remain stability even through hard times and is admirable of how unaffected she is of negative happenings. Coates believes that Michelle Obama is very fortunate, and has prospered even though hard times, making her the embodiment of American goals and values.

 

American Girl

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What is the theme of Ta Nehisi-Coates”s profile? Is there an overarching narrative? What surprises Coates about Michelle Obama? How does Coates contextualize Michelle in the context of his own background growing up in Baltimore?

The theme of the profile was making the first lady, Michelle Obamas, life so relatable. The writer really focused on giving insight of how and where she grew up. The overarching narrative was focusing on the population and class that surrounded the neighborhood Mrs.Obama grew up in. The way she was able to grow up in a tough city and separate herself from the stereotypes. The writer seemed to be surprised she wasn’t a “mad black woman”, that she was actually nice and calm. In the very first sentence of the article we understand what the surprise is “The first time I saw Michelle Obama in the flesh, I almost took her for white”, she was completely opposite of what the writer expected.

American Girl

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What is the theme of Ta Nehisi-Coates’s profile?

I felt like the theme focused on a side of Michelle Obama that the public rarely gets a glimpse of. A lot of the profile went in depth as to where Michelle comes from in Chicago,  and how her childhood and earlier years influenced who she became and the choices she made later in life.

Is there an overarching narrative?

In general, this article goes more into depth about the black population in Chicago. Not only did the writer elaborate on Michelle’s life, but also on many other blue collar worker families in the area. Coates shows how the first lady’s story growing up is similar to the rest of those in that specific demographic.

What surprises Coates about Michelle Obama?

I think that what surprised Coates the most was how open Michelle was about her life growing up, and how she “says what she means,” she seemed very down to earth.

How does Coates contextualize Michelle in the context of his own background growing up in Baltimore?

In the context of his own background growing up, Coates states that Michelle was not that affected by the racial and economic issues going on in Chicago at the time. For example, he writes about her side of town held onto their economic income when Chicago was struggling, as well as how she was “surrounded by a cocoon.” From my perspective, it was almost as if Coates believed she was more fortunate than others around her, and because of this he “mistook her for white,” when he first met her.

American Girl

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What is the theme of Ta Nehisi-Coates’s profile?

Growing up black in her neighborhood and how it affected her. It shows how it shaped and made the person she is today. There also includes a history of the neighborhood.

Is there an overarching narrative?

Though the article speaks largely of Michelle Obama, it is also about all black residents of south side that grew up like Obama. It takes the idea that all black people grew up impoverished with both parents working and struggling and presents us with an alternative truth, black people growing up in “normal” homes, with a working father and stay at home mother. It presents us with a break in the stereotype.

What surprises Coates about Michelle Obama?

Coates says that “The first time I saw Michelle Obama in the flesh, I almost took her for white”.

How does Coates contextualize Michelle in the context of his own background growing up in Baltimore?

Michelle grew up not knowing what “blackness” was whereas Coates compares himself and knew very much of his “blackness”. He knew his “blackness” as his culture and to her i was not a culture she was familiar with or viewed it as. They had different perspective on life in their early upbringing.

 

American Girl

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What is the theme of Ta Nehisi-Coates profile?

Nehisi-Coates is writing about Michelle Obama’s different facets of being black and the progression to a society where being defined as black is the overlooked as “the two oceans that define America”. The article has a lot of perspective that supports the theme, exploring the different flavors of the community, threading together her experience growing up in a black neighborhood, and historically black college and so forth with the fight for equality and nationalistic pride.

Is there an overarching narrative?

The overarching narrative is black people being themselves and defining themselves as American as oppose to black. Nehisi-Coates explores her the work of Michelle Obama, and what she has done as a potential first-lady. In the text, it’s most evident in the block quote from Obama’s thesis, defining race as a divider.

What surprises Coates about Michelle Obama?

Coates had a pre-determined image of Michelle being a strong independent black woman who embraces the “angry black woman” front. Instead, he was surprised by her calm approach when discussing her upbringing, and admits to almost taking her for white.

How does Coates contextualize Michelle in the context of his own background growing up in Baltimore?

Coates speaks of his background in an indirect comparison to Michelle, nullifying that racism and segregation is a thing from past decades, and is present in today’s society. By using Michelle’s figure as the first black first-lady. Black culture is not splashing into the scene, already rippling in the American culture, but it’s still treated as something new, and for the writer, growing up in Baltimore, black power was very evident in his community, whereas Michelle was brought up in a community where that was not the central theme of the community because they were almost separated through their self-sufficiency.