Just Walk On By Brent Staples
Luc Brubaker
Professor Kovak
English 110
Reading Journal 9
12 November 2012
Reading Journal 4, Prompt 4
“At dark, shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver - black, white, male, or female - hammering down the door locks(Staples 34).”
Throughout the whole essay, Staples gives different examples of how society views him as a menace without even actually knowing him. A lot of the people he encounters are quick to judge him, mainly because of the color of his skin. He touches on the point that it’s a little unfair that he gets judged like this because he’s not the guy street walkers think he is. This quote is the prime example of the essay, showing that even though the so called “Victims” are in their car, where most people think they are safe, they still feel the need to lock their doors. Staple’s word choice with using “Hammering,” rather than than just saying that the people locked their doors, really exemplifies the amount of fear in the “Victims,” just because he walks in front of their car when crossing the street. This quote is deemed important mainly because it shows the true colors of non-blacks in the mid- to late 1900s, as not trusting blacks or even giving them a chance. Just by the fact that the people felt the need to lock their car because he was crossing the street in front of them, we can infer that they assumed that he was a criminal or that he was going to do something criminal like. It also implies the nature of those people and how they are easily influenced by stereotypes. If Staples was clearly walking towards the car, then it’s understandable that the people might want to lock their car, but crossing the street is a lot different. The reader can see that they were clearly scared of Staples, which is disappointing because he’s done nothing to have a reputation like that. Since Staples has been dealing with this all of his life, one can infer
Professor Kovak
English 110
Reading Journal 9
12 November 2012
Reading Journal 4, Prompt 4
“At dark, shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk of the driver - black, white, male, or female - hammering down the door locks(Staples 34).”
Throughout the whole essay, Staples gives different examples of how society views him as a menace without even actually knowing him. A lot of the people he encounters are quick to judge him, mainly because of the color of his skin. He touches on the point that it’s a little unfair that he gets judged like this because he’s not the guy street walkers think he is. This quote is the prime example of the essay, showing that even though the so called “Victims” are in their car, where most people think they are safe, they still feel the need to lock their doors. Staple’s word choice with using “Hammering,” rather than than just saying that the people locked their doors, really exemplifies the amount of fear in the “Victims,” just because he walks in front of their car when crossing the street. This quote is deemed important mainly because it shows the true colors of non-blacks in the mid- to late 1900s, as not trusting blacks or even giving them a chance. Just by the fact that the people felt the need to lock their car because he was crossing the street in front of them, we can infer that they assumed that he was a criminal or that he was going to do something criminal like. It also implies the nature of those people and how they are easily influenced by stereotypes. If Staples was clearly walking towards the car, then it’s understandable that the people might want to lock their car, but crossing the street is a lot different. The reader can see that they were clearly scared of Staples, which is disappointing because he’s done nothing to have a reputation like that. Since Staples has been dealing with this all of his life, one can infer