ipl-logo

The Cab Driver Who Flipped Me Off Analysis

1085 Words5 Pages

It’s been 53 years since President Lyndon Johnson enforced the Civils Rights Act of 1964, but racism is still an ongoing issue to this day, whether it’s intentionally or inadvertently caused by the people in our society. Cornelius Eady evaluates the concept of racism through his poem, “The Cab Driver Who Ripped Me Off,” which focuses on the views of a prejudiced cab driver. Eady’s literary works focuses largely on the issue of racism within our society, centering on the trials that African Americans face in the United States. “The Cab Driver Who Ripped Me Off” from Autobiography of a Jukebox is an influential poem that successfully challenges the problems associated with racism, which is a touchy, yet prevalent problem that needs to be addressed. …show more content…

It is a free-verse poem that is a monologue of a cab driver’s rant on the people he despises. The lines are all short and choppy, creating an assertive tone that suits the vocal quality of a ranting monologue. For example, lines like “Look at me” and “Now you take me” are a few words in length. The overall length of this poem is quite long, with a total of 100 lines, which is due to the short lines. The length may represent how long cab ride felt to the African American passenger as the driver was displaying prejudice behavior, even if the cab ride wasn’t realistically that long. It mimics how time is passing by slowly to this person as he sits there, having to listening to this man rant. There aren’t any romantic poetic traits or language such as rhyming because racism is not considered to be a romantic or pleasant topic. Furthermore, the title of this poem, “The Cab Driver Who Ripped Me Off,” is thought-provoking. In this case, the idea of being ripped off refers to the African American passenger having his sense of self-worth as an American and his dignity being stolen by the cab driver. The driver doesn’t see his passenger for who he or she is truly is, only his or her race. The driver doesn’t see people based on their individuality, he defines others only in groups such as African Americans and the poor

Show More
Related

  • Comparison Between White Privilege In Crash And 7 Seconds In The Bronx

    588 Words  | 3 Pages

    When examining “Crash” and “7 Seconds in the Bronx” we observe the injustice the injustice individuals face resulting in unforgivable offenses. When examining both stories it becomes apparent that between stereotypes, authoritative discrimination, and economic hierarchy, it is tough to be of a minority background. Stereotypes are an unfair representation that has been developed about a person or a race. In “Crash” we see the struggle of being a minority. We see this in the beginning of the story when Anthony and Peter, both young adults of colour, could see Jean clenched onto her husband and purse when passing them in the streets as she pre disclosed the assumption they

    Read More

  • Jeremy Dowsett's 'White Privilege'

    1357 Words  | 6 Pages

    All these might be as a result of circumstances, but he remains firm in pointing out that the minority should not take such incidences as any form of racism. The fact that drivers use the main road while the bicyclists would like to use the same lane symbolizes the genesis of the “white privilege’ sentiments that the non-white communities try to refer to when addressing the whites. The mistreatment by car owners is a result of his determination to use the same road with them despite the different specifications. In real life situations, bikes have their designated paths that they would not be curtailed to use. When they try to compare themselves with the car drivers, they might end up disappointed because their class and machinery might not allow them to enjoy the same privileges.

    Read More

  • From Trayvon Martin To Andries Tatane

    749 Words  | 3 Pages

    With Schutte’s background in journalism, social activism, and writing, she is able to bring out emotions within the reader. Schutte understands the past events relating to racism and is able to discuss the issues with the reader, with an informed background. The wording within the article demonstrates Schutte’s passion on the subject, and uses words such as defenseless, shock and horror to express her opinions on the racism that blacks fear and encounter daily. Schutte includes personal stories of victims of racial profiling and harm to establish pathos. Schutte discusses the discrimination that blacks face daily: being judged based on the color of their skin and not their intellectual ability or personality.

    Read More

  • Walk On By Brent Staples

    1219 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Power Behind “Just Walk on By” In Brent Staples article “Just Walk on By”, Staples shares his thoughts on the way marginalized groups interact. He uses his own experiences as a young African American man to shed light on how people can have implied biases that affect the way they treat other people. Staples does this to demonstrate how society develops preconceived notions in the minds of individuals about marginalized groups, primarily African American men, which are often a flawed representation of the people within these groups. The rhetoric he uses is key to developing an understanding persona and an emotional appeal that exposes the implied biases of people without alienating or offending the audience, to whom-- among others-- he attributes these biases.

    Read More

  • Black Men And Public Space By Maya Angelou Analysis

    694 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever been affected by race in your life? Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior is an outcome of racism. Racism is a big conflict in today’s society and effect many lives. In the two stories “Champion of the Word” by Maya Angelou and “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples , race was the big social view being discussed. Racist ideology can become manifest in many aspects of social life.

    Read More

  • Brent Staples's Use Of Irony In 'Just Walk On By'

    771 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Danez Smith's Dinosaurs In The Hood

    1302 Words  | 6 Pages

    Smith goes on in the fourth stanza to say this is the story of minorities that save themselves standing next to the addicts, exiles, and children of slaves. It is the broken people that are the heroes of this story. A shift is noticeable beginning in the fourth stanza because the poem changes from what the poet wants the movie to be to what elements the movie is prohibited to have. Danez Smith claims he does not want a “hmong sexy hot dude” to save the day with “a funny yet strong, commanding black girl buddy-cop” then uses Will Smith and Sofia Vergara as an example. The preceding lines go on to say there will be grandmas taking out Raptors while sitting on her porch and for once a movie will not obsess over violence, race, and status, only normal people doing amazing

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Poem 'Talk' By Terrance Hayes

    409 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poem begins by saying “Talk like a nigger now, my white friend, M, said (1) / after my M.L.K. and Ronald Reagan impersonations (2)”. M.L.K and Ronald Reagan were two highly respected superiors. The word choice of each was that of a more educated level. Which is why the young African American is told to “Talk like a nigger now”. His friend, the white guy, is saying that although his impersonations were good it was time to talk like other African Americans talk.

    Read More

  • Sober Song Barton Sutter Analysis

    746 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Sober Song” by Barton Sutter is arranged as a free verse poem with a rhyme scheme pattern within every other line. This poem describes a man saying his goodbyes to the memories he has had with alcohol. The poem’s beat and rhythm reminds the reader of a broken love song to the liquor that had once taken over his life. In lines in 1 through 4, we have a special pattern displayed not only in these lines, but throughout the entire poem.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Just Walk On By Brent Staples

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout his essay, Staples is able to make the audience understand what he has to deal with as a black man. Staples does this by using words and phrases such as, “...her flight made me feel like an accomplice in tyranny” and “... I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area…” (542). By writing and describing how he (Staples) feels, the audience is able to get an inside look into how black men are treated and better understand why society’s teachings, play a vital role in how we see each other. Staples’ powerful writing also allows the reader to take a step back and see how as a society, people make judgements on others based on appearance alone.

    Read More

  • Poem Analysis: Minor Miracle By Marilyn Nelson

    348 Words  | 2 Pages

    The poem ends abruptly with "He climbed back into his truck and drove away," and does not allow any chance for the poet or her listeners to respond to the surprise ending. This poem is best read as though you were listening to a friend recount a story that had happened to them recently. I thoroughly enjoyed the imagery that Nelson brought forth in her

    Read More

  • Racism In Claudia Rankine's Citizen: An American Lyric

    1241 Words  | 5 Pages

    Words have the power to create great things just like they have the power to destroy them. Claudia Rankine uses her book, Citizen: An American Lyric, to illustrate the idea that racism has become an everyday component of our society. This book expresses the idea that language normalizes the existence of racism. This particular

    Read More

  • A Step Away From Them Poem Analysis

    989 Words  | 4 Pages

    The language of the poem in the first stanza also depicts the setting of New York as a busy place with a lot going on at one time, “The sun is hot, but the/cabs stir up the air. I look/at bargains in wristwatches. There/ are cats playing in sawdust.” (11-14) The near-sporadic thinking of the speaker: having multiple thoughts in the same stanza that aren’t directly related and being written in short-enjambed sentences (creating breathlessness), creates a feeling of sensory overload which a city like New York is known

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racism In Fences

    1501 Words  | 7 Pages

    All humans experience senses, so by promoting this idea of fundamental ability to drive a truck–– having sense is enough to drive –– allows Troy to believe that are serious inequalities between White men and Black men in the

    Read More

  • Racism And Violence In Richard Wright's Black Boy

    671 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story represents the culmination of Wright’s passionate desire to observe and reflect upon the racist world around him. Racism is so insidious that it prevents Richard from interacting normally, even with the whites who do treat him with a semblance of respect or with fellow blacks. For Richard, the true problem of racism is not simply that it exists, but that its roots in American culture are so deep it is doubtful whether these roots can be destroyed without destroying the culture itself. “It might have been that my tardiness in learning to sense white people as "white" people came from the fact that many of my relatives were "white"-looking people. My grandmother, who was white as any "white" person, had never looked "white" to me” (Wright 23).

    Read More

More about The Cab Driver Who Flipped Me Off Analysis

Open Document