Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Books / Just Walk on By
Analysis of "Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space" by Brent Staples
Essay details.
Book Review , Just Walk on By
- Words: 1062 (2 pages)
Please note! This essay has been submitted by a student.
Just Walk on By Brent Staples Summary
Get quality help now.
Verified writer
Proficient in: Literature
+ 75 relevant experts are online
More Essay Samples on Topic
In Brent Staple's essay "Black Men and Public Space," the author argues that while in public space young black men are stereotyped to be a dangerous threat. He also claims that while in public space he and other black men must ...
In the essay, “Just Walk on By,” Brent Staples succeeds greatly in demonstrating the current negative view of black men in America and the fact that racism is still alive today. He narrates a personal anecdote about the path he ...
With so much positive influence on cultural diversity in society, it is hoping that people would be more accepting of others. Unfortunately, still, there are individuals who do not wish to accept others that are 'different'. ...
In Brent Staples' 'Just Walk on By: Black men and Public Space,' Staples provides black males experience of discrimination and further attempt to bring awareness black male's perspective toward white, educated females. Staples ...
Prejudice has caused the pain and suffering of cultures for many centuries. In author, Audre Lorde’s, “The Fourth of July,” as well as Brent Staples, “Just Walk on By Black Men and Public Space,” we see how the lives of two ...
In the essay, Black Men and Public Space, Brent Staples thoroughly illustrates his trials of how people act timid or strange due to hasty misconceptions whenever he is in public. Staples composed this piece to highlight the ...
Finding oneself, discovering your own individuality, is simply a discovery that is found through the journey of life. In “Brother Dear”, Bernice Friesen’s use of foil exposes the importance of discovering your identity within an ...
‘The Adventures of Tintin’ or just ‘Tintin’ is a wave of Comic Books or more precisely ‘Comic Albums’ created by Georges Prosper Remi, a cartoonist from Belgium and we all know him by his pen name Hergé. Since its first ...
“Huge icicles fringed the entrance and the roof. Weird ice shapes covered the walls, Rose from the floor. Everywhere was snow. Their eyes dazzled. They moved forward, blinking, climbing over the ridges and drifts that covered ...
We use cookies to offer you the best experience. By continuing, we’ll assume you agree with our Cookies policy .
Choose your writer among 300 professionals!
You cannot copy content from our website. If you need this sample, insert an email and we'll deliver it to you.
Please, provide real email address.
This email is exists.
Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Just Walk on By — Rhetorical Analysis Of Brent Staples’ Just Walk On By
Rhetorical Analysis of Brent Staples' Just Walk on by
- Subject: Literature , Social Issues
- Category: Books , Discrimination and Prejudice
- Essay Topic: American Literature , Just Walk on By , Racial Discrimination
- Published: 06 August 2021
- Downloads: 40
Table of contents
Cause and effect: staples’s use of structure, diction: staples’s choice of words, imagery: staples’s use of vision, irony: staples’s use of sarcasm.
Remember! This is just a sample.
You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.
121 writers online
Remember: This is just a sample from a fellow student.
Related Essays
While we work to change the tolerance in America, the prejudice response of perceiving black men as criminals, is still a regular occurrence. In his essay, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Ability to Alter Public Space” [...]
Despite the struggle to stop racial discrimination has made a significant step for the past thirty years, racism still thrives amongst us in the modern world. Racism has emerged to be such a deep-seated part of society to an [...]
History has been, and always will be, a matter of perspective. Wars, for example, will be viewed and taught differently by each respective country involved. Some things will be written off and forgotten, while somewhere else [...]
In George Orwell's 1984, Winston Smith cannot escape the state's domination. Yet his inability is not only because of government power. Rather, even if he did have an opportunity to leave Oceania, his actions indicate that he [...]
Problems faced by characters in literature often repeat themselves, and when these characters decide to solve these standard problems, their actions are often more similar than they first appear. This idea is evident when [...]
The power of words is enough to control an entire nation. Although many would consider physical power and brute force to be absolute power, George Orwell’s 1984 demonstrates a dystopian society where language is the ultimate [...]
George Orwell’s 1984 portrays a dystopian society whose values and freedoms have been marred through the manipulation of language and thus thought processes. Language has become a tool of mind control for the oppressive [...]
One aspect of 1984 that is consistently dominant, is the theme of manipulation, and how even the most overt and simplistic forms of manipulation manages to keep the citizens of Oceania so loyal so successfully. One way in [...]
Contemporary political discourse often references George Orwell’s 1984 as an example of how government interference infringes on our rights as individuals while we remain complacent in the face of these violations. For example, [...]
Find Free Essays
We provide you with original essay samples, perfect formatting and styling
Cite this Essay
To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:
Related Topics
By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.
Where do you want us to send this sample?
By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy.
Be careful. This essay is not unique
This essay was donated by a student and is likely to have been used and submitted before
Download this Sample
Free samples may contain mistakes and not unique parts
Sorry, we could not paraphrase this essay. Our professional writers can rewrite it and get you a unique paper.
Please check your inbox.
We can write you a custom essay that will follow your exact instructions and meet the deadlines. Let's fix your grades together!
Are you interested in getting a customized paper?
We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .
We can help you get a better grade and deliver your task on time!
- Instructions Followed To The Letter
- Deadlines Met At Every Stage
- Unique And Plagiarism Free
- Plagiarism scanner DO THE CHECK
- Writing help ASK FOR HELP
- Read my essay GO TO READ
Sample details
- Literature,
- Social Issues,
- Discrimination
- Words: 1316
Related Topics
- Black Lives Matter
- Waiting For Godot
- English Literature
- The Souls of Black Folk
- Poetry Analysis
- Gospel of Mark
- Teenage Suicide
- Gender Issues
- Characterization
“Just Walk on by” – Brent Staples Analysis
Just Walk on By In Brent Staples’ essay, “Just Walk on By” the author describes his experiences, feelings, and reactions towards the discrimination he has faced throughout his life as a black man. Staples describes several different personal experiences of when he felt that he had been judged or discriminated against by other people based on the color of his skin and how that contributed to his overall appearance.
Staples has continuously been perceived as a danger or criminal simply because of his skin color, leading him to have to deal with many uncomfortable situations. The author has even gone so far as to take precautions when he is on the street just so that he will not be misjudged or thought of as dangerous by the people that surround him in these circumstances. Throughout Brent Staples’ essay, he illustrates how discrimination has affected him personally and uses various literary devices to elaborate on his points.
124 experts online
Staples position on discrimination is clearly portrayed throughout the essay; he has been misjudged based on the color of his skin and his physical appearance and for that reason alone. Although the topic of discrimination may be one that people do not like to talk about and something that people often avoid discussing, Staples displays a light tone and many different humorous remarks to get his point across. Staples uses a lot of irony in his work and uses a friendly approach to the more serious matters, which makes it a little easier to take in.
He begins by referring to a woman he had met as his victim, which of course it not at all what he means. She immediately has misjudged him as a mugger and he was left with an embarrassed and shamed feeling. He also illustrates himself as a more timid character by saying that he could scarcely bare laying a knife across chicken, let alone a human throat. Staples humorous approach makes the topic a lot easier for people to take in and sets a lighter mood for the difficult topic of discrimination.
The author uses a wide range of metaphors as a literary device, incorporating them in powerful and memorable ways. He compares himself to a shadow, helping describe the horrible persona that has been attached to him. He has no way of escaping the dangerous character that people have created for him. He later compares his whistling to cowbells, as a warning to the people around him. Staples whistles sophisticated tunes to lessen his dangerous persona. The use of metaphors is a common practice and it is very effective.
Using metaphors as a literary device immediately paints a picture in a audience’s mind and makes envisioning the main character that much simpler. Comparing himself to a shadow connects a reader instantly with his personality and while he may be timid, it is also apparent that he has another side to him that everyone may not be aware of. I feel that the use of these metaphors help to lighten the mood of the essay and creates a more playful feeling throughout the essay. Along in with the author’s use of metaphors is the frequent use of imagery.
In this reading, it is simple to envision the scenes as the different scenarios are explained and the audience can easily picture Staples in the places he is describing and also the people he comes across. Perhaps the most powerful and memorable imagery is provided in the author’s description of people’s different reactions and faces when they come into contact with him. Actions speak volumes and an immediate change of facial expression is possibly one of the strongest indications of a person’s reaction to someone else.
In the nervous and frightened expressions that Staples confronts, it is easy to see why he has reached the conclusion that people have discriminated against him because of his skin color and they are afraid of him. The imagery that Staples adds into his essay paint vivid pictures into the readers’ minds and help the reader to understand the situation clearly. Staples imagery is extremely strong throughout the essay and adds a lot to his different stories. Staples strongly expresses the fact that he wants the readers to feel sympathy for him whether it is intentional or not.
It almost sounds like he makes himself to be the criminal in all of these situations. He takes precautions to look innocent, he avoids situations that could make him look like the bad guy, and he gives those who are judging him an easy out. Staples describes various colored men that grew up around him and he also notes that many of them end up in jail. He informs his audience that his skin color largely overshadows white skin color when it comes to crimes. Because he mentions this, he has the audience back to thinking that skin color really does make a difference.
But by confronting these facts, he makes himself actually look that much more innocent, and a reader really can’t help but sympathize with him. Because he saw so many people with the same skin color end up in jail or worse, he understands why people misjudge him and he genuinely seems like he doesn’t blame them at all for the misconception. His reactions to these types of circumstances helps his cause. He frequently feels shamed or guilty, like it is his fault that these people he comes into contact with are afraid to even make eye contact with him.
He feels bad for the people and wishes that they did not have to feel this way, when really it is not his fault. As these incidences continue to build, he also finds himself upset and angry over the repeated situation of being confused as a criminal. Because of these things, he has begun to take certain precautions, such as humming the tunes of sophisticated songs when on the streets to not look like a criminal. Another powerful aspect of this piece is the relaxed mood that is present throughout reading Brent Staples essay.
The piece is mostly composed of short sentences that are placed amongst longer sentences. This makes for interesting reading and keeps an audience on task. Staples makes sure not to use to many complicated words that make the audience think to much. All of the sentences are not overwhelmingly difficult to understand so grasping his point and drawing a conclusion is made simple, especially for an audience that is looking to analyze in a deeper way than a mere summary. Descriptive adjectives used in the work are powerful and strategically placed throughout the essay.
Throughout “Just Walk on By” a constant picture is painted in the reader’s head which makes the reading way more enjoyable and also memorable. The memorability of this essay makes the message really stick with the audience after they are finished reading it, which most likely was the author’s original purpose. The author also included more casual stories from his own past, which not only made the readers think more on the topic, but also made what he was saying more believable and allowed the reading to possibly think how it might have related to their life.
Through all these various devices, Brent Staples has really made this work more powerful and the message more clear. It is a difficult task to change the minds of an audience who probably already has certain misconceptions and can understand why a black man would be discriminated against based on his appearance when walking the street. Staples uses many powerful literary devices that draw his readers in and forces them to think. Staples paints a perfect picture in the readers minds and makes it easy to sympathize with him when it comes to the endeavors he has had to overcome because of the constant discrimination.
This essay was written by a fellow student. You may use it as a guide or sample for writing your own paper, but remember to cite it correctly . Don’t submit it as your own as it will be considered plagiarism.
Choose skilled expert on your subject and get original paper with free plagiarism report
“Just Walk on by” – Brent Staples Analysis. (2017, Jan 21). Retrieved from https://graduateway.com/just-walk-on-by-brent-staples/
You may also find these documents helpful
“Just Walk On” by Brent Staples Analysis
“Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples Sample
Dealing with Society: Brent Staples’ “Black Men in Public Places”
To Walk Away or Not to Walk Away
Vision mission staples inc.
Staples: Office Superstore Industry
Brent Miller Fixing Loren Inc. Hexonic Acid Demand
“Whirligig”: Brass Instrument and Brent
Literary Analysis: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
Hi, my name is Amy 👋
In case you can't find a relevant example, our professional writers are ready to help you write a unique paper. Just talk to our smart assistant Amy and she'll connect you with the best match.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
“Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples is a story of a young black graduate student who describes the discrimination he endures every day because of his skin color and explains how he accommodates for the white people who are afraid of him.
In his essay, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Ability to Alter Public Space” Brent Staples analyzes the effects he has on those around him and expresses his feelings about being able to “alter public places in ugly ways”. Staples purpose is to magnify the ongoing prejudices happening to black men as they are often stereotyped as a threat.
Rhetorical Analysis of Brent Staples' Just Walk on by Subject: Literature, Social Issues Category: Books, Discrimination and Prejudice Essay Topic: American Literature, Just Walk on By, Racial Discrimination Pages: 2 Words: 868 Published: 06 August 2021 Downloads: 40 Download Print Table of contents
In the essay Just walk on by, author Brent Staples shares his experiences of living with the prejudged notion that he is someone to be feared because he is different from his peers. Brent Staples grew up in the small town of Chester, Pennsylvania where he was an outsider.
“Just Walk on by” – Brent Staples Analysis Just Walk on By In Brent Staples’ essay, “Just Walk on By” the author describes his experiences, feelings, and reactions towards the discrimination he has faced throughout his life as a black man.