How to Be an Antiracist Literary Elements

Nonfiction; Memoir

The United States, from its inception to the present day; some references to world history (slave trade, diaspora)

1st person (Kendi's narration) and 2nd person (his exhortations to the reader)

Tone: straightforward, frank, compassionate, questioning, forceful
Mood: contemplative, determined, somber

There is no clear protagonist/antagonist structure in the book, although racists are portrayed in a very negative, antagonistic light, and victims of racism could be conceived as the protagonists.

Can an antiracist society be built?

This is a non-fiction book and does not have a climax, but in the arc of Kendi's own life, it is possible to see his meeting with the newspaper editor as a climactic moment because it catapults him into antiracism.

This is a non-fiction book that does not utilize foreshadowing in a traditional literary capacity, but Kendi does leave a mini-cliffhanger at the end of each chapter in which he alludes to something coming up in the next one.

N/A.

1. There are innumerable allusions to the African diaspora and African American history: slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow, Civil Rights, mass incarceration, etc.
2. Black culture: hip-hop, poets, novelists, sociologists, historians, and philosophers
3. There are allusions to current events, such as Obama's election, Senator Warren's economic plan, the election of 2016, Trump and his presidency, and the murders of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and others

As this is not a novel, imagery is not used in the same way fiction readers expect, but Kendi does an effective job of placing the reader in certain situations due to the simple power of his images: on the bus with Smurf, talking with Kaila and Yaba, addressing a discontented BSU gathering, walking in Trayvon Martin's shoes, and more. His imagery helps drive his conclusions home by being clear and direct, not embellished.

1. "I loved and hated my father for living on his own terms in a world that usually denies Black people their own terms" (4)
2. "My acceptance of biological racial distinction and rejection of biological racial hierarchy was like accepting water and rejecting its wetness. But that is precisely what I learned to do" (49)

Kendi parallels the experiences of Black people throughout history and the present day, as well as the experiences of people across lines of race and class and gender.

N/A.

1. "She [Kendi's grandmother] had the clearest dark-brown skin, a smile that hugged you, and a wit that smacked you" (21)
2. "My mind drifted away again, this time wandering around the classroom and around the school" (36)
3. "I believed violence was stalking me—but in truth I was being stalked inside my own head by racist ideas" (72)
4. "Ideas often dance a cappella" (182)