What is Staples thesis in just walk on by?
In “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” Brent Staples discusses his ability to alter others emotions with his presence. Staples explains his thesis throughout the essay through narratives of incidents in his life.
What is the tone of just walk on by by Brent Staples?
Tone: Humorous. Through irony and sarcasm to personally connect with his audience.
What does staples mean by his final sentence?
pm. 6. What does Staples mean by his final sentence: “it is my equivalent to the cowbell that hikers wear when they know they are in bear country”? Does this statement change the terms of the “hunter and hunted” he has established in the essay? What he means is that his whistling is like a cowbell.
What is Staples trying to accomplish with his first sentence do you think he succeeds Why or why not?
Why or why not? Staples is trying to draw the reader in by alarming them. His opening sentence implies that something much more sinister is going on. The rest of the paragraph brings light to the irony in this sentence; he did not see her as a victim at all, but she felt fear that she could become one.
What does Staples subdued tone tell you about his character?
What does Staples’ subdued tone tell you about his character? He is more concerned with how the public thinks of him and wants to fit in. 5. Do you think we make false assumptions that people are up to no good if they are on the street late at night, even if they have a good reason for doing so?
What does Staples refer to as his unwieldy inheritance?
According to the context the “unwieldy inheritance” seems to be “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways”. (It was in the echo of that terrified woman’s footfalls that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I’d come into–the ability to alter public space in ugly ways.
Who is Norman Podhoretz and why does Staples talk about him?
Staples mentions Norman Podhoretz as a promoter of making african americans as bad people. He can make the same point without mentioning Podhoretz but, including the standpoint of a racist leader makes his essay stronger. 2. Staples begins his essay with an anecdote.
Why has he forced himself to smother the rage he felt at so often being taken for a criminal paragraph 11?
Tales of being judged and being put in a figurative box. 7. Why has he forced himself “to smother the rage [he] felt at so often being taken for a criminal? (paragraph 11) Because then he would be living up to the image that is portrayed.
Where Fear and Weapons Meet and they often do in urban America there is always the possibility of death?
Staples writes “where fear and weapons meet— and they often do in urban America—there is always the possibility of death” (Staples 224). Stereotyping can be dangerous because it may cause chaos and violence in the society. The way he coped with this situation was a good way because it was safe for him.
What does he learn from his encounter with a white woman as recalled in paragraphs 1 and 2?
What does he learn from his encounter with a white woman as recalled in paragraphs 1 and 2? The man’s encounter with the white woman, made him realized the inheritance that he was in. Although the woman thought he was uncommon, the man himself was no different from her. The man’s looks did not make him different.
What does staples mean by the power to alter public space What examples does he provide to explain this concept?
Answer Staples means that African American men are feared in public spaces and when around they “alter. public space”. He provides an example of a reporter getting mistaken for a murderer to explain this concept.
In what other ways can an individual alter public space?
Altering public space is changing how a person, place, or thing makes you feel. It can be negative but it also can be positive. Some positive ways altering public space can be a friendly smile walking into a room, beautiful new constructions, and planting trees to better the environment.
How does Staples describe himself how is he often seen by others?
1. Staples describes himself as “indistinguishable from the muggers” in a public view, he is often being discriminated and seen as a rapist or a criminal, only because of his skin color.