ipl-logo

Just Walk On By Brent Staples Analysis

217 Words1 Page

Brent Staples’ essay, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man and Public Space”, is about the “ability” that a black man holds; which as Staples puts it, is the “ability to alter public space in ugly ways.” African American men, or people for that matter, have stated (even in present day) that they feel the same way. This, among other factors has contributed to the fact that this essay has become very popular among different communities. As the writing prompt states, the essay has been anthologized, and obviously placed in One Hundred Great Essays. For reasons unknown, this particular essay has caught the eye of many. Staples shows his style through arrangement in the very beginning of the essay. The first paragraph begins with calling his first encounter

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Just Walk On By

    320 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is his word choice within the first sentence of this essay that is astonishing. He says his “victim” as if he caused harm to the woman. In reality he was walking down the street, minding his own business. ... In the sixth and seventh paragraphs Staples talks about the town he grew up.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In Just Walk On By

    1013 Words  | 5 Pages

    Society in today’s world is very alike to society years ago, with different social classes and stereotypes. In “Just walk on by” by Brent staples, a variety of rhetorical devices are used in order to convey the message of how a black man is trying to show society that he is so much more than the color of his skin. The author explains how the character was characterized as violent and dangerous because he was black. Staples continues on a sort of journey with the character to show how he overcomes that stereotype, by whistling classical music to give the idea that he is mature and less threatening. Throughout the piece, Staples uses devices that will help the reader better understand the struggles that the character has to face on a daily basis.

    Read More

  • Brent Stereotypes And Turkeys In The Kitchen

    718 Words  | 3 Pages

    Narratives can teach readers how to connect different stories by discovering the themes of each one. Each author has a different argument and message their trying to tell but however the similar themes can connect. In Brent Staples “Just a walk on by: Black men in public space” and Dave Barry “Turkeys in the kitchen” each author tries to prove their argument of why certain stereotypes affect them and how they feel about it. Brent staples discusses the stereotype of black men being profiled as criminals. Within his narrative, Staples talks about accounts where he would be walking down the street just like a normal person and a white woman ahead of him would run away and cross the street to escape from him.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'Just Walk On By: Black Men And Public Space'

    821 Words  | 4 Pages

    Growing up in a small Pennsylvania neighborhood, Staple’s was unique because he stayed out of trouble. Many boys his age were being killed or thrown into jail. Later on in his life he attended college in Chicago and wrote “in that first year, my

    Read More

  • Black Culture In Bronzeville

    2028 Words  | 9 Pages

    The emergence of black culture in Chicago revealed that African Americans were ‘normal’ and had their own culture and social norms like other Americans. This supported racial democracy by helping to legitimize the image of African Americans showing that some blacks had ‘made it’ and were able to escape the ills of the black ghetto through hard work. This was also a clear example of black achievement despite significant obstacles that bought supported ‘one pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.’ Also, black music and literature humanized and documented the narratives of the residents that black middle class women were assisting through social democracy. John Johnson’s Ebony magazine helped to show the fullness of black life challenges faced by blacks from different class backgrounds in a way that was safe enough for whites to engage indirectly while learning about the black experience (Green).

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Just Walk On By, By Brent Staples

    1244 Words  | 5 Pages

    By using such a unique story with eye-catching phrases as the introduction of his article, Staples evokes the emotion of fear and unsettledness that soon proceeds to a feeling of relief, yet in a way that 's melancholic.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In Brent Staples's 'Black Men In Public Space'

    1033 Words  | 5 Pages

    But back to Staples’, he once said that a woman cast a worried glance at Staples when she saw him walking down the street. Staples found this to be a little strange, and as he walks too close to the woman she seems to pick up her pace of speed after a few glimpses of Staples. In this part of the essay, Staples had a sense that a woman who barely knows him was probably Black Men in Public Page

    Read More

  • Summary Of Just Walk On By Brent Staples

    628 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space,” author Brent Staples addresses the racial profiling issues that we have in our country and the things that cause them. He discusses how it feels to be a black man in society and how people, especially black males, should carry out their daily lives. Staples implies that racial profiling is caused by both black males that commit crimes and our society because the media portrays the majority of criminals as being black males. Black males participating in street crime is the basis of racial profiling.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Just Walk On By Brent Staples

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    The message that Brent Staples is trying to convey to the audience in his essay Just Walk On By, is that as a society we have positive and negative preconceived thoughts of other people who are of either the same or different race and gender. For Staples, this means that as a tall black man he has to deal with being seen as deadly and threatening to people who don’t know him. These people let their fear of biased opinions of black men think that all tall, black, and athletic men are going to attack them. Brent uses his stories of people’s fear and judgement of him, to allow the reader to both understand what the people were feeling and how he felt being judged. Brent Staples’ persona helps the message through the use of strong diction.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Just Walk On By Black Men And Public Space

    1166 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Black Men And Public Space Rhetorical Analysis

    621 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Chokehold By Paul Butler

    1418 Words  | 6 Pages

    Will society ever view African-Americans as people and not as less than? In “Chokehold” Paul Butler will discuss this very idea depth. Butler provides history on why and how society sees African-American men as violent thugs. Butler goes on to explain in detail how the chokehold plays a part in oppressing African-American men and how to avoid the ramifications of the Chokehold, if possible.

    Read More

  • Perception Of Fear In Brent Staple's 'Just Walk On By'

    802 Words  | 4 Pages

    Staples understood that he was unwelcome in the store and left wishing her a goodnight. As Staples was growing up in the sixties he says how he was “scarcely noticeable against a backdrop of gang warfare, street knifings, and murders” (2). Around him he sees his friends, family, and neighbors, “all gone down in episodes of bravado played out in the streets”(2). He is fearful from these things because at any point in time that could be him who lays dead. In the essay he even says, “ Where fear and weapons meet-and they often do in urban America -there is always the possibility of death”(1).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Black Men And Public Space By Brent Staples

    265 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples, he talks about how because of his race he is feared and discriminated upon. While in New York, Staples walks during the night and is mistaken for a mugger or a rapist because of his race and his large figure. People are very hesitant in the world today because there has been such a great amount of crime. Staples sharing his stories of people’s reactions shows how many assumptions can be made about a person simply based on the color of their skin.

    Read More

  • Black Men And Public Space By Brent Staples Summary

    841 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his essay “Black Men and Public Spaces,” Brent Staples explains that people often find him intimidating because he is tall and black. Staples shares his account of a number of personal encounters, arguing that in each situation, he was misinterpreted as being dangerous because of his daunting physical appearance. Staples asserts that as a result of this misinterpretation, he was continually mistreated. Staples begins his article by describing the events leading up to his life-changing realization that he has inherited “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways (183).” When he was twenty-two years old, Staples found himself one evening, walking behind a well-dressed white woman on a deserted street in a rather wealthy neighborhood.

    Read More

More about Just Walk On By Brent Staples Analysis

Open Document