“Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples
“Just Walk on by” written by Brent Staples, outlines the view of the young adults in the society. The writer, Brent, points out how young men are taken in the improvised section of Chicago. Using the phrase, “It was clear that she thought herself the quarry of a mugger, a rapist, or worse,” the writer here expresses the terms the young people especially the black ones who most people refer to as like the rapists, muggers or even worse terms. The writer has included the use of rhetorical devices such as logos, pathos and ethos to fully express the fear the citizens have of young black men.
For instance, the phrase, “Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street,” gives a general idea that the woman vanished after seeing a young black man because she did not have any trust and her instincts gave her a bad impression of the man.Brent uses Pathos in expressing sympathy to the young black man. Brent writes that “As a softy who is scarcely able to take a knife to raw chicken—let alone hold it to a person’s throat—I was surprised, embarrassed, and dismayed all at once…” The writer uses this to make the reader sympathize with the young as well as proving his innocence that he cannot even be able to take a knife to raw chicken. The sympathy acts as an emotional appeal that Brent uses as a means of the readers to empathize with the characters.
Furthermore, Brent writes that “Unfortunately, poor and powerless young men seem to take all this nonsense literally.” Brent has used this phrase to indicate that even after the young black men are perceived as muggers, rapists or even other worse personalities, they still in a way, at some point prefer to act as the same. Brent’s arguments and the use of pathos show the struggles young black men undergo and faced in Chicago as well the need for the society (readers) to empathize with them.
My classmate’s response and illustrations are spot-on. He illustrates the racial problems and stereotypes that blacks face especially the men. As my classmate illustrates, due to the stereotypes that black men face, Brent uses pathos, an emotional appeal to encourage the audience to empathize with them. He argues that the notion of blacks ever considered suspects and being alienated from the society is a disturbing and unfortunate.
Reference
Brent, S. “Just Walk on By”, …
