In the article, “Black Men in Public Places,” Brent Staples first grabs the reader by telling them about his first victim. This, “victim,” was not harmed by Staples at all, he only walked passed her at night, which made her incredibly uncomfortable and she was not the only person that had felt this way. Staples describes how people would lock their car doors when he would walk by, just because of his appearance, to them he looked the same as a mugger or rapist. Staples moved to New York, and faced the same racial profiling he did back in his hometown. Staples describes himself as shy and timid, while the people where he grew up were gang affiliated and were dying at young ages. The worst experience Staples’ had was when he was running late
For the majority of the article Staples relies heavily on
To Staples, the author, his typical style of attiring, and his physique, being six feet two inches and black, was something unalterable. Being born like that wasn’t his choice, it just happened but to the lady that was walking in front of him perceived him as a monster because of his appearance, that in reality he wasn’t a monster. Judging from his physique, he could’ve perhaps appeared like a typical criminal but subsequently Staples states “…I was twenty-two years old, a graduate student newly arrived at the University of Chicago.” As in justifying himself by crafting it to look like he was the victim under the lady’s assumptions. For instance, the woman saw him as a threat to herself and society while, he spoke of himself as just an ordinary person, who made the audience, feel sympathetic towards him through
Why, because he was nothing like people thought he was. Late at night Staples would like to take long walks and it was there where he encountered this women. She was well dressed and in her early twenties. As Staples walked behind her, he realized she began to “pick up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street” (Staples 240).
For instance, when a “white [and] well dressed” women in Chicago “glimpses” at Staples “she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest.” Another example of Staples experiencing discrimination, is when he worked as a journalist in Chicago. Per to Staples, “One day, rushing into the office of a magazine I was writing for with a dead line story in hand, I was mistaken for a burglar” (240). In other words, Staples is viewed as a “youngish black man-broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoves into [his] pockets” (238). Therefore, people assume that he’s a “mugger” or “rapist” based on his
Imagine reading a short story that makes the reader feel sympathetic for the main character, then imagine reading the same story but in a different context. While reading the two articles "Black Men and Public Spaces" and "From Parallel Time", the audience reads the story of how people react to a man because of the color of his skin. Although they tell the same story, they have many differences in the way they are written, such as the word choice and the audiences that the short stories were written for. Both of these stories talk about the same experiences, but they are both written quite differently. They are especially different in the detail that is incorporated into these pieces of work.
It Never Stops Driving along the road, you hear a screeching siren and see blinding lights flashing in your rearview mirror. Instantly feeling your stomach drop as the officer waves you to pull over. The officer greets you with a firm “Hello, may I see your driver’s license and registration?”. While handing it to the officer, I notice that he brings his search dog to sniff the vehicle for drugs. The dog begins to scratch at the door alerting the officer that there is something inside.
He does not blame the people for these instances, however it makes him feel uncomfortable. Staples explains that due to the color of his skin he was once mistaken for a burglar when he went into work late one night. Staples message to the readers is not to stereotype someone due to the color of their skin, behavior, or gender but rather to get to know them and
Throughout his passage, “Just Walk on By”, Brent Staples sends the message that discrimination has affected the lives of many in several negative ways. He particularly uses irony and satire as tools to prove his point, using them almost like a verbal blade to cut through public image and stereotypes, as well as his proficient use of powerful diction and syntax to strike rememberable points into the reader’s mind. Staple’s use of irony is very simple yet effective. His message is that he is not a stereotypical black criminal, so he portrays himself as one to show how ridiculous that it really is. When he says “My first victim was a woman”, he tries to conjure up images of a stalker or a murderer or even just a plain old mugger, which is what the stereotype of a large, black man, like he explains that he is immediately following this statement.
Stereotypes have the power to label someone and rob them of all their hard work or strike fear into others. One such stereotype is that of black men being more dangerous;yet, one black writer voices his opinion on such a stereotype. In the essay “Just Walk On By” by Brent Staples, Staples describes his experience of being a large black man and how it affects the people around him. From people locking their doors to pedestrians crossing the street to avoid a confrontation, people seem to be afraid of Staples just from a glance. Yet Staples does nothing to cause this fear, rather his stereotype is to blame.
The women’s racism caused her reaction of “running in earnest,” “worried glances” and her eventual getaway, exemplifying the prejudice of a black male. He further demonstrates his “ability to alter public space” when just crossing “in front of a car stopped at a traffic light.” He hears the “thunk” of the driver locking their car regardless of them being “black, white, male, or female.” Staples understands the world is dangerous and people have the right to fear those around them, however, he continues to endure discrimination. But I am the person making those judgements.
“Black Men and Public Spaces” Diagnostic Essay Brent Staples in “Black Men and Public Spaces,” illustrates the inescapable prejudices and stereotyping that African-American men face in America. He does this by relating to his audience through his personal experiences with stereotyping, and sharing his malcontent on how these events have made him alter his way of living. From “victimizing” woman, watching people lock themselves away, and having to whistle classical music to calm the nerves of people around him; Staples builds a picture to help people better sympathize and understand his frustration. Although Staples describes himself as a college graduate, a journalist, and a softy in the face of violence, he details that the overall public deems him a dangerous criminal.
In his essay, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space”, Brent Staples uses the rhetorical strategies of anecdote and diction in order to convey his message that due to racial discrimination black people (mainly men) have to change the way they naturally conduct themselves in public for they run the risk of something terrible happening to them. Staples uses anecdotes to bring in the personal side of the message to the audience. Staples creates a persona of innocence and almost alienation in his writing. Anecdotes such as his both instances in which he accidently scared women on walks and the time in which he and another reporter were mistaken for murder suspects or robbers are used to show real life proof of his message.
Americans Stereotypes: Loosening stereotypes Americans are always scared when they see a black man and think about them trying to harm them. Actually, that isn’t always the case and isn’t the case a lot of the time. Brent Staples in his writing Black Men in Public Spaces shows some of the societies stereotype issues. Americans should stop stereotyping blacks, not purposely go around them at night, and he shouldn’t have to whistle to make people comfortable around him. Americans put stereotypes on different ethnicities.
Staples claims that at the time, “there seemed to be a discreet, uninflammatory distance” between the two of them. Staples quickly became aware that she did not feel the same way; she repeatedly looked back at Staples with a worried glance. Staples suggests that in her opinion, the tall, black man walking behind her was too close for comfort. Staples claims that the woman picked up her pace and that “within seconds she
He starts to allow the reader to empathize with him by going from identifying the woman as his victim to stating how her response caused him to feel bad about himself. Staples does an excellent job in drawing a guilty sensation from the audience, which is important when gaining an emotion response. "I grew accustomed to but never being comfortable," in my opinion, this is the most influential statement because it makes the readers feel guilt and think about being in the writer 's shoes (614). He accomplishes a rhetorical goal by pulling emotion from his audience. He makes the audience see from his level that racism still exists whether society chooses to believe it or