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Stereotyping In Black Men And Public Spaces And Parallel Time

682 Words3 Pages

Reflection essays deal with an author picking an important event and contemplating all the possible meanings and outcomes. Many writers chose to pick an event that has happened to them or affected them personally. Black Men and Public Spaces and the excerpt from Brent Staples’s autobiography, Parallel Time, both deal with racial stereotyping. In both of the literary works, the stereotyping that occurs is handled in completely different ways. In Black Men and Public Spaces, Brent Staples handles the stereotyping and ridicule he receives from white individuals serenely. Staples vividly describes one occasion in the essay when a woman was on the same street as him, she looked back at him and observed him, and then she began to run. It was the …show more content…

The racial stereotyping that occurs in the excerpt from the autobiography is handled completely different from the way that it is handled in Black Men and Public Spaces. The excerpt from the autobiography depicts Staples as a cruel individual. He enjoyed toying with the couples, that were walking along the same street as him; especially since they were already scared of him. Staples used the individuals’ fears and used them to his advantage. He even created a game called Scatter the Pigeons, which was where he would walk in between a white couple in order to separate them. Staples acted like a hunter stalking his prey, “The two of them stood frozen as I bore down on them. I felt a surge of power: these people were mine; I could do with them as I wished” (Staples). The last sentence of the excerpt from Parallel Time shows the true nature of Staples, “They’d made me terrifying. Now, I’d show them how terrifying I could be” (Staples). The two literary pieces convey two different messages, which was the purpose of the …show more content…

There are many reasons why the piece was changed. One reason is to convey a stronger message. Staples was incredibly passive in the first piece, but in the second piece was very bold. The boldness comes from how long he has had to deal with racism. The message depicted in the autobiography reflects how much stereotyping and bullying can truly affect an individual. Another reason that essay was changed is so that the reader can truly connect with the story. More readers tend to connect with literature that provokes deep emotions and the revised piece certainly does that by providing more details and altering the actions of Staples. Therefore, second literary piece affects the reader more. A final reason for changing the essay is to add more detail ensuring the reader will comprehend the intended

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