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  • Essay / "Black Men and the Public Space" by Brent Staples: analysis

    Brent Staples demonstrates the prejudiced treatment that African-American men currently receive in the United States. Recalling incidents that occurred in the mid-1970s, he discusses the issue of race and gender using multiple rhetorical strategies in his article "Black Men and Public Space". Many Caucasians reconsidered their first impressions of black men due to Staples' effective use of imagery. , ethos and pathos; however, his argument relies largely on the sympathy of his audience who neglect to recognize the statistics presented in the article Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Games. "Violent Video Should Not Be Banned"?Get the original essay In "Black Men and Public Space," published in Ms. Magazine, author Brent Staples reflects on the multiple occasions that led him to discover that his mere presence is enough to make people, especially Caucasians, perceive him as a criminal. During his first meeting, he meets a white woman on a deserted street in Hyde Park, Chicago. He was in the avenue behind her when she turned around and revealed a worried expression on her face. After a few more glimpses, she started walking faster and eventually running, scared. “It was in the echo of this woman's terrified footsteps that I began to realize the heavy inheritance I had received: the capacity to modify public space in ugly ways.” After this experience and those that followed, Brent Staples became accustomed to being wrongly viewed as a threat. Even though Staples illustrated that he was a student suffering from insomnia, stalking sleepiness instead of a white woman, he makes it clear that these types of events are common. Caucasians continually have these misconceptions about African Americans – often assuming that they are delinquents – and allow their unnecessary fears of being robbed or assaulted to arise. To appear less intimidating on the street, Brent Staples would whistle melodies of popular classical composers, which became an "effective measure to reduce tension." In his article “Black Men and the Public Space,” Brent Staples targets white men and women. His reasons are to inform them of the false impressions they have of African-American men and to persuade them that the black race is not associated with crime. He appeals to his audience by using descriptive writing including sensory details and figurative language. This allows his audience to recreate a vivid visualization of the experience he describes, forcing them to see through the perspective of a young black man. For example, “At dark, shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thud, thud of the driver – black, white, male or female – hammering on the door locks. » He includes this scenario to describe the posture people have when simply crossing the street at night. The sounds of the driver activating the car door locks makes its audience hear the noises and think about their actions, many can recognize their dishonest behavior. We can see other examples of imagery in the statements “Elsewhere…where the sidewalks are narrow and widely spaced buildings block the sky, things can get really tense.” and "They appear to have set their faces to neutral, and with the straps of their handbags draped across their chests like a crossbody, they move forward as if preparing not to be tackled." Brent Staples' descriptive language actively engages the reader, so they canidentify with one or other of the individuals in the passage, with the author perceived as a predator or with the woman victim of fear. Another effective strategy is Brent Staples' ability to elicit emotions. answer. He uses painfully moving anecdotes about his personal journey. “…in Chester, Pennsylvania, the angry little industrial town where I grew up in the 1960s, I was barely visible against a backdrop of gang war, street stabbings and murders. As an audience, we are exposed to the troubles endured by Staples and its community, which causes pathos. In the lines that follow, we are also told that despite his harsh childhood upbringing and the negative influences that surrounded him, he still managed to remain "one of the good boys." There are several other elements of this rhetorical appeal in Staples's writings. “When I was a kid, I saw countless tough guys locked up; Since then, I have buried several of them too. They were actually babies – a teenage cousin, a twenty-two-year-old brother, a twenty-something childhood friend – all disappeared in bouts of bravado enacted in the street. I came to doubt the virtues of intimidation very early on. I chose, perhaps unconsciously, to remain a shy shadow, but a survivor. Brent Staples garners sympathy from his audience by describing the magnitude of the losses he had to endure within his family. The information he reveals about himself contrasts his good-natured personality with the toxic connotation society associates with darkness. The anecdotes also boost Staples' credibility. He connects to the problem of other stereotypes about African American men because he was personally judged on the color of his skin, which builds trust between him and his audience. “I walked into a jewelry store… The owner apologized and came back with a huge red Doberman on a leash. She stood up, the dog reaching towards me, silent in the face of my questions, her eyes almost popping out of her head. I took a quick look around, nodded and wished him goodnight. The woman in the jewelry store was terrified of Staples. She acted by picking up a vicious dog with the intention of intimidating it into leaving the store. She was very prejudiced against Staples because of her race. Despite questioning Staples, whom she did not recognize, she did not offer him any help because she thought he was a thief. Although it may seem racist for white women to fear the presence of a black man, Staples says, “I understand, of course. of course, that the danger they perceive is not a hallucination. Women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black men are significantly overrepresented among perpetrators of this violence. This is a valuable statistic addressed by Staples; however, he does not provide additional explanation connecting this counterclaim to his argument. He doesn't seem to worry that women are more prone to violent crime and that there is truth behind their preconceptions; he can only evoke empathy from his audience in the following lines: "Yet these truths are no consolation against the kind of alienation that comes from always being a suspect, a fearsome entity with whom Pedestrians avoid making eye contact. » Although misinterpretations of race are constant, tolerance will not be enough to reduce the number of crimes in the United States. Therefore, his solution escapes logic. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Personalized Essay In conclusion, Staples effectively puts.