Walk On By Brent Staples Analysis

Fear of Skin In the story “Walk on By,” author Brent Staples, writes about how being a black man, could elicit fear in people. Staples gives many examples of his own encounters with people fearing him because of the color of his skin. One example that Staples gives helps the readers connect to Staples the most; and aids the readers in understanding what he is trying to say. The example also helps the readers know the full extent of Staples’ hardships. One example that is effective in aiding the readers to understand Staples point of view of the world; would have to be when Staple hears the “thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver… hammering down the door locks” (Staples 28). This helps the readers understand that even when Staples crosses the street in front of cars, it causes people to become afraid for their safety and lock their doors. Even if Staples doesn’t make a threatening gesture to them, people still feared for their safety. Therefore, Staples has to be careful with how he acts around people, or they might think he is trying to harm them in some way, shape, or form.

This helps the audience see how even in a place of work, Staples can cause fear. The office manager didn’t even ask him what he was doing there, he reacted because Staples was black, and he assumed that Staples was there to harm the people in the office. This helps the readers to feel sympathy for Staples and remember how they feel when someone assumes the reason why they are doing something or the reason they are