Just Walk on By - Essay by Brent Staples

Students will gain a better understanding of Just Walk on By-- an essay written by Brent Staples.

How does Staples alter public space in the essay Just Walk on By?

By being aggressive and intimidating to passersby

By whistling classical music like Beethoven and Vivaldi

By driving instead of walking

Why does Staples characterize the woman he encounters in paragraph 1 as a “victim” in Just Walk on By?

Because every encounter she’s had with a black man has been negative

Because she has been negatively affected by white privilege

Because she is enslaved by her own fear

Does Staples use logic, emotion, or a combination of the two to appeal to his readers in Just Walk on By?

Logic

Emotion

Combination

Why does Staples mention Norman Podhortez in the essay Just Walk on By?

The mention provides evidence that “New York” mugging literature exists

He illustrates that they/we approach to race relations when he says blacks “were weaker than we were, more docile individuals”

His remarks create togetherness/unity

Lennel Geter is mentioned in the essay Just Walk on By because:

He is a black man in Texas who served jail time because of mistaken identity, which helps the reader connect his experience with that of Staples’

Because he is a man who robbed a fast-food store, which helps the reader connect his experience with that of Staples’

Because he is a man who intimidated a woman eating in a park, which helps the reader connect his experience with that of Staples’

Staples’ ability to alter public space renders him:

Powerful

A victim of other’s paranoia

Chivalric and a romantic