In the text, Just Walk on By written by Brent Staples, an African American author, speaks of his experiences with racial profiling in the 1960s. His message in the text is centred around that racial profiling that resides within stereotypes, specifically, that him, a six foot two black man is “a mugger, a rapist, or worse,” even though he is educated with nothing except good intentions, (Staples, 542). By connecting his audience through a vivid sense of his own perspective, his strong use of diction, onomatopeias, and analogies, creates a compelling passage that makes his message easy to grasp and understand.
The beginning phrase, “my first victim was a woman; white, well dressed…,” shows readers that these experiences will come from him personally, …show more content…
Though it is only used once, its impact is worthy of acknowledgment. When walking down the streets of Philadelphia, Staples experienced people locking their car doors with the sound “thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk,”as he would walk by (Staples 542). This incident led Staples to have a harsh realization that although he is educated, and not a criminal, he will continue to be seen as one with or without change. Although this detail is small, it gives readers a glimpse of the reality of racial profiling. The power of this rhetorical device was met with analogies that surround the authors use of an onomatopoeia, and gave reason for it. The author is believed to use analogies in order to get his message across. For example, in Staples novel, he not only depicted his own emotions, but also the emotions of his “victims” in a compare and contrast format. Staples first begins by stating that “being perceived as dangerous is a hazard in itself,” and can lead to him being assaulted or worse due to racial profiling (Staples 542). In order to show both sides of the spectrum the author speaks of “women in the dark…. They seemed to their faces to neutral, with their purse straps strung across their chest… they forge ahead as though bracing themselves against being talked. I understand of course, that the danger they
The beginning phrase, “my first victim was a woman; white, well dressed…,” shows readers that these experiences will come from him personally, …show more content…
Though it is only used once, its impact is worthy of acknowledgment. When walking down the streets of Philadelphia, Staples experienced people locking their car doors with the sound “thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk,”as he would walk by (Staples 542). This incident led Staples to have a harsh realization that although he is educated, and not a criminal, he will continue to be seen as one with or without change. Although this detail is small, it gives readers a glimpse of the reality of racial profiling. The power of this rhetorical device was met with analogies that surround the authors use of an onomatopoeia, and gave reason for it. The author is believed to use analogies in order to get his message across. For example, in Staples novel, he not only depicted his own emotions, but also the emotions of his “victims” in a compare and contrast format. Staples first begins by stating that “being perceived as dangerous is a hazard in itself,” and can lead to him being assaulted or worse due to racial profiling (Staples 542). In order to show both sides of the spectrum the author speaks of “women in the dark…. They seemed to their faces to neutral, with their purse straps strung across their chest… they forge ahead as though bracing themselves against being talked. I understand of course, that the danger they