Summary Of Just Walk On By

Black men are not beasts. People unaffected by blatant racial prejudice believe that racism ceased to exist after the Civil War, but the morals of today’s populations have said otherwise. Protests against black positivity and the constant accusations of African Americans has made walking down the street such a difficult task. Brent Staples, a graduate of the University of Chicago, is often painted as a dangerous man by people whose brushes have been tainted by their upbringing. In Staples “Just Walk on By”, his language expresses a strong and experienced persona, greatly affected by these plights. Tactics such as use of diction, and various analogies help to translate to his audience the feeling of being outcast. Being one who is outside and made to look in is a difficult position to hold. Staples’ words speak volumes to those outside the
He exemplifies the struggle of predetermined judgments through specific phrases that target his frustrations. These frustrations, Staples reveals, are created by the assumption of this “fearsome entity” (Staples 543) that takes place inside of himself. Using the term entity omits the personality, the history of a person and leaves a ghostly shell; a blank canvas. This lifeless figure symbolizes the absurdity behind fearing a black man without any clear indications of danger. Staples further delves into this character by opening the text with reference to his “first victim” (Staples 541). The alarming nature of his phrasing draws the reader into the real message: the harm in an automatic assumption. By creating a