Analysis Of Brent Staples The Myth Of The Latin Woman

In his essay “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space”, Brent Staples, a graduate of the University of Chicago, explains to us how he was reduced by prejudice in regards to racial profiling. Staples grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania, a town where “…gang warfare, street knifings, and murders” (240) is the norm of everyday life. He knew the location he lived in was abominable but, he did not allow this to affect the way he lived. Staples states that although he “grew up as one of the good boys, had perhaps a half-dozen fist fights. In retrospect, my shyness of combat has clear sources” (240), he was still prejudiced because of the color of his skin. Staples is a six-foot-two-inch giant with billowing hair, which is ironic since he depicts himself as a “…softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to a raw chicken…” (239). The young African American suffers from insomnia and therefore, likes to take evening walks which he soon recognizes

Cofer is a graduate of Oxford University who was born in Puerto Rico and later moved to New Jersey when she was four. She grew up under strict surveillance by her parents and was brought up to be a modest and virtues woman through her family’s culture. She was constantly told how to dress and behave properly with respect and honor to not only herself but, to her family. She received a lot of conflicting messages from her family to act modest and reserved; yet, she was encouraged by her mother to dress like a woman in a flashy and otherwise, provocative clothing. She called this “cultural schizophrenia” (231), being pulled by two opposite ends of the pole. Cofer tells us that what protected her from men was the Spanish/Catholic mentality, “You may look at my sister, but if you touch her I will kill you”