Stereotypes are present everywhere: in schools, on the streets, at work, everywhere. Asians are stereotyped as nerds; African Americans, criminals. It is too easy to assume another’s personality based on the looks of another due to the thoughts implanted by society. In the essay “Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples, an African American writer, the author clearly depicts how stereotypes automatically create a person’s personality without getting to know someone through his use of a relatable persona and his strong pathos. Staples’ use of his relatable and understanding persona supports the message that stereotypes, good or bad, create one’s personality before actually knowing someone. Staples writes in his own point of view from his own experiences,
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By relating to a woman walking home as his “first victim,” Staples shows how the woman views him as “dangerous” (542). The use of victim and dangerous creates an assumption that Staples is a hazard to be cautious of; however, these are just merely assumptions made by the woman without knowing his true intentions. The author refers to himself as a “softy” who can’t even “take a knife to a raw chicken” (542). If he struggles cutting up a dead chicken, would he really be able to commit a murder? Since he is terrified of carving a chicken, he cannot be a true threat; however, society has created an automatic personality to those of color: scary, dangerous, and criminalistic. Additionally, Staples creates his persona through his diction. As he walks home at night, the author watches as women “[brace] themselves against being tackled;” however, he later admits that the fear women have is “not a hallucination” (543). The fear is created by the misrepresentation of blacks and the vulnerability of women - not because the author would commit a crime against a harmless woman. The word brace shows how effective stereotypes are. To brace oneself is to mentally and physically prepare oneself for …show more content…
To be afraid of the assumptions, to change one’s habits to make others less afraid, to become sad when assumptions are made - these all occurred to Staples as he recognized how strong stereotypes are. Through his diction, he accurately depicts his relatable emotions. Staples writes about his understandings as to why women would fear him, but he then goes to write that the reasons “are no solace against the kind of alienation that comes” with the stigma of his “fearsome entity” (543). The word alienation connotes that he feels like he is in a foreign area where he is seen as a direct threat. Fearsome directly relates to the word frightening which shows the extent of how much the stereotype pushed onto the author as he was growing up. These phrases create the emotions of anger and sadness. Additionally, Staples uses personal stories to show fear and connect to the audience. While employed as a journalist in Chicago, Staples was running late one day. As he rushed in the doors, he was “mistaken as a burglar,” and his manager called security on him; he had to prove to the company he worked for that he was, in fact, an employee (544). This personal story creates fear in the reader because they can easily relate. The reader can relate to this fear due to the stereotypes they have been given themselves. One can only imagine how it would feel to
By relating to a woman walking home as his “first victim,” Staples shows how the woman views him as “dangerous” (542). The use of victim and dangerous creates an assumption that Staples is a hazard to be cautious of; however, these are just merely assumptions made by the woman without knowing his true intentions. The author refers to himself as a “softy” who can’t even “take a knife to a raw chicken” (542). If he struggles cutting up a dead chicken, would he really be able to commit a murder? Since he is terrified of carving a chicken, he cannot be a true threat; however, society has created an automatic personality to those of color: scary, dangerous, and criminalistic. Additionally, Staples creates his persona through his diction. As he walks home at night, the author watches as women “[brace] themselves against being tackled;” however, he later admits that the fear women have is “not a hallucination” (543). The fear is created by the misrepresentation of blacks and the vulnerability of women - not because the author would commit a crime against a harmless woman. The word brace shows how effective stereotypes are. To brace oneself is to mentally and physically prepare oneself for …show more content…
To be afraid of the assumptions, to change one’s habits to make others less afraid, to become sad when assumptions are made - these all occurred to Staples as he recognized how strong stereotypes are. Through his diction, he accurately depicts his relatable emotions. Staples writes about his understandings as to why women would fear him, but he then goes to write that the reasons “are no solace against the kind of alienation that comes” with the stigma of his “fearsome entity” (543). The word alienation connotes that he feels like he is in a foreign area where he is seen as a direct threat. Fearsome directly relates to the word frightening which shows the extent of how much the stereotype pushed onto the author as he was growing up. These phrases create the emotions of anger and sadness. Additionally, Staples uses personal stories to show fear and connect to the audience. While employed as a journalist in Chicago, Staples was running late one day. As he rushed in the doors, he was “mistaken as a burglar,” and his manager called security on him; he had to prove to the company he worked for that he was, in fact, an employee (544). This personal story creates fear in the reader because they can easily relate. The reader can relate to this fear due to the stereotypes they have been given themselves. One can only imagine how it would feel to