Each author, Brent Staples and Gloria Naylor, present their arguments about certain aspects of American society in a unique and reflective manner. Brent Staples explains the issues with assumptions based on stereotypes from his own experiences. Gloria Naylor expresses how the meaning and presentation of a word holds different effects for an individual or group. These works eventually reveal how groups of people are perceived can drastically affect the groups themselves and society. Overall, issues with stereotypical assumptions and use of language discussed in these passages are still prevalent in American society today as it is connected to complex perspectives. For over countless years, conflicts between races have escalated and declined in the public eye, but are constant
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In Brent Staples’ essay “Black People and Public Space,” he talks about his own experiences as a “youngish black man” in different scenarios with people of a different race as him, presumably whites. Through his experiences, it is shown how just by he looks towards other people without saying a word to defend himself, others can perceive a certain impression and then instantly label him as far as a monstrous being. Hence, stereotypical assumptions cause people to act in certain ways that they might not normally do if they truly think what they are basing their judgments on, as they are
In Brent Staples’ essay “Black People and Public Space,” he talks about his own experiences as a “youngish black man” in different scenarios with people of a different race as him, presumably whites. Through his experiences, it is shown how just by he looks towards other people without saying a word to defend himself, others can perceive a certain impression and then instantly label him as far as a monstrous being. Hence, stereotypical assumptions cause people to act in certain ways that they might not normally do if they truly think what they are basing their judgments on, as they are