He also talks about white men who wrote essays about black men and portrayed them as ruthless and criminals. Staples also talks about how he was mistaken for a burglar and another black reporter was mistaken
In his paper,"Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space," Brent Staples clarifies how for the duration of his life, others have oppressed him in light of the fact that he is a tall, dark man who fills in as a writer in a transcendently white field. As he clarifies, he initially acknowledged the amount of his appearance terrified others, especially a white lady, when he used to take late night strolls as a graduate understudy. While he comprehends that we live in a society that has turned out to be progressively savage and perilous, he feels disappointed that dark men, specifically, are as yet being judged and misconstrued in view of their appearance alone. For instance, he refers to two occurrences where he was mixed
He was the one that civilians were fearing as they “[hammered] down their door locks” (Staples 542) and this idea of the world being his pool of countless “victims” impacts how Staples views himself. Staples also used imagery to paint a picture to the reader what he is experiencing. In the opening paragraph he describes a woman he titled as his victim. He deliniates her age, her clothing and the beggest contrast between them both: she is white (Staples 542). Staples’ depiction of the woman’s reaction, her running down the cold, dark street aids the reader in feeling the fear of the woman and even feeling the confusion of Staples since he hadn’t meant to prompt a reaction like that.
By changing immediately from identifying the woman as his victim to then stating how her response caused him to feel bad about himself, he starts to allow the reader to empathize with him and really involves them in the emotional state. Staples does an outstanding job in drawing a guilty sensation from the audience. "I grew accustomed to never being comfortable”. This is one of the most influential statements in this passage because it makes the reader begin to feel guilt and really put themselves in the writer's shoes, drawing a huge emotional response to
In contrast to Dickerson, Staples decides to alter the way he carries himself when in public spaces. He concludes that whistling selections from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons will help to assure his victimizers that he is not a threat because, after all “[v]irtually everybody seems to sense that a mugger wouldn’t be warbling bright, sunny selections” (p. 269) from the composer mentioned above. In an attempt to “smoother the rage” (p. 269), Staples concludes it is best to take the path of least resistance and comfort the people who are stereotyping
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
That it is reality and not just a concept based off of racism. Within these anecdotes Staples uses hyperbole to create suspense and kind of overstate the real issue at hand in order to show how terrible his position truly is. Such as in the opening sentence, “My first victim was a woman - white, well dressed, probably in her early twenties…(542)”. The woman is not an actual “victim” to any physical harm. Nothing happened to her except she feared for possibly her life.
In his essay entitled Black Men and Public Space (1987), Brent Staples talks about how people will have a common misconception on the black community by thinking that they are all mugger ,rapist or thugs. Staples supports his claim by telling the reader events/ stories that occured to him and talks about how people will assume that he is a danger to society when in reality he isnt. The authors purpose is to inform the reader that his experiences of being stereotyped is to show the reader his point of view when it comes to these types of situations. Staples writes in a formal tone for an intelligent or free minded person.
In the reading Just Walk on By by Brent Staples, the topic of racial stereotypes surfaces from the man who gets racially profiled quite often as he explains his personal experiences. The author bluntly tries to pass the message that racially judging people is wrong and explaining how it makes the other party ,african americans, feel. When analyzing Staples’ message his rhetorical strategies play a huge role into how his message is perceived. He uses influential diction allowing each word to give an impact unmatched by any white man who tried to convey a black man’s thought process. Staples also appeals to his credibility with the obvious observation that he is a black man talking about his real life experiences.
Staples uses imagery, so the reader can picture it when reading his work, and to help create a sort of dark and lonely tone. The character uses several personal experiences which use a large amount of imagery. This is better shown when staples writes “ As a softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to a raw chicken- let alone hold it to a person’s throat……”(542), The character feels as though he is being judged for being a certain color when really he is afraid himself of getting hurt; he is also very humble and shy because he is afraid to even harm something that isn’t alive. When being treated as guilty and wrong, shame will follow; the character feels shameful that the lady is afraid of him when he has done nothing wrong.
“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.
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
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.
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.
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.
