Just Walk On By Brent Staples Analysis Essay

In "Just Walk on By" essay by Brent Staples, the author discusses his experiences, sentiments, and responses to discrimination as a black person in his lifetime. He describes various individual experiences of sensation he had been judged or discriminated against by others based on skin color and how this made a significant contribution to his general look. Staples have been continuously viewed as dangerous or immoral only due to the color of his skin, which made him experience numerous uncomfortable circumstances.

The acknowledgment that racism remains alive today is a clear example of Brent Staples' demonstration of the overall negative perception of black people in America. He shares a personal story of the direction he chooses in trying to grasp the effects his presence can have on his environment. Staples shares his utter frustration on how racism has dramatically affected his life. By utilizing many instances, its target audience, images, and comparisons, in this essay, Staples indicated the prevalence of racism and prejudice.

In this essay, Staples explains the injustice he has often faced in his white work area as a black journalist. After graduating as a student, he first realized this racism issue with a night experience. While walking behind a woman, she turned to look at him and hastened her steps after giving him a worrying look. Next Staples narrated the woman took to her heels thinking he was trailing her, according to the way he described the story, he blamed the reason for her running away to his appearance-which was a tall black man with a beard and undulate hair and with his two hands in his military jacket. He acknowledges that the universe is cruel, and the woman had every right to be afraid of him, but he is troubled by the idea that he can't alter the cause of the fear, which was him. He continues to realize that because of his skin color, he needs to transform his environment. Nonetheless, throughout the article, he doesn't get upset but has a feeling of devastation.

Staples thus utilize numerous examples to convey to his viewers the racial bias he receives: generally black men and white women. He mentions two specific times when individuals misappropriated him unreasonably for a burglar and his friend as a murderer. Such instances encourage the reader to feel compassion for Black people as a whole and the inescapable prejudice. At a point when he went to a jewelry shop to compose an essay for a newspaper, he was met with an unwelcoming stare. The reading audience understands the difficulties of the existence of black men who can't even visit a jewelry shop without raising the alarm. Women are mostly the victims of such racist behavior, and many will acknowledge their misconduct when studying the article.

Nonetheless, Staples won't let his feelings be overshadowed by racist assumptions of him being a threat to society. He whistles romantic music to convince others that surely he isn't a dangerous man and that they shouldn't be afraid of him, and he also does that to ease the world around him. With these acts, he stifles the thoughts of criminal feelings and also reducing the sense of fear by neighbors. The whistling of romantic music helps anyone to understand that Staples can be accurately represented once they set aside their racism.

Staples often utilize colorful illustrations to make his viewers envision the scenarios that he needs to deal with. Staples' picture of being unable to put a knife through a raw chicken demonstrates that he isn't a dangerous person. Staples also discuss white women who stroll so late that they appear to be prepared for any attack. Women protect themselves slowly from black men they don't know all because of a racist mentality. Such images enable the reader to understand Staples' story in full. From the start of his article, his diction shows this tactic. Staples notes that his “a woman was his first victim,” which made a lot of readers believe that Staples has harmed this woman somehow, as many infer from the predisposed idea of black people. Readers quickly come to terms with this error and realize that he/she has only concluded prejudicially as many people do daily.

Staples also uses correlations to strengthen the explanations of the anxiety that other people feel from the presence of Staples. Staples describes that when she saw him at night on the highway, the woman hastily fled, making him seem like a tyrant or a mugger. That experience shows how the woman's discrimination had an impact not only on her acts but also on the emotion of a black man. He employs an idiomatic phrase to recreate the night-time feel of walking the streets, claiming he might cross the road in front of a car halted by a traffic light and provoke the driver, whether male or female, white or black, making them push their door locks down. The sound from the car locks gives readers an uncomfortable feeling and demonstrates the level of caution, and not just women have taken because of him.

Staples convince readers that not all black men are harmful and urged them to deter from promoting discrimination. He also persuades his audience to be friendly to black people. I have experienced all parts of the scenario because I was the one who was threatening and who became a victim of racism. I always see to it that when I'm alone, I'm entirely conscious of my surroundings and the individuals around me. This preconception has been conveyed to me by my aunts, who always remind me to carry pepper spray at all times and to head to my vehicle with my key held out between my fingertips as a protective gesture I understand now that such ideas are misleading and that these poor treatments were no good to black men. It's so awful when people worry about me at an airport, I know, and I shouldn't encourage this by fighting back violently. Staples' essay effectively reveals black men's reactions when discriminated, and the oppression black men still have to contend today.