“Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples is about a man who struggles daily with stereotypes and misconceptions because he scares people based on his appearance. He gets his message to show by using an array of rhetorical devices throughout his essay to portray that prior knowledge of a group of people does not apply to every individual in said targeted group, or in simpler terms, to “not judge a book by its cover”.
Staples uses the rhetorical devices ethos and pathos many places to amplify his persona. For example, on page 543, he recalls stories of experiencing thugs he grew up around being locked up or being put into the ground. This creates a sense of mournfulness and lets the audience connect with Staples and understand that he has grown up …show more content…
Although his kronos is not as apparent as his other devices, he purposely includes details about the setting and time of this story. On pages 542 through 544, Staples describes that he is in 1980s Chicago, mostly surrounded by run down areas; even telling a story in which he was mistaken for a burger in 1980. The audience may be able to pick up why he reinstated the time period he grew up in because of the crime rates in 1960 and 1980s Chicago. During both of these periods, crime rates grew exponentially; including mostly violent crimes such as: rape, murder, burglary, and kidnapping. Black men were forced to take the burden of having this awful stigma tied to them. Thus the stigma stuck to this crowd for generations in these run down cities; and essentially blamed for the actions of others, just because they shared the same skin color. Using this prior knowledge of history, audiences can further understand the previous setting of stereotypes and judgement before even reading about Staple’s specific struggles. Many phrases used by Staples in “Walk on By” are ironic descriptions, such as using “victim” in line one, and describing the ironic way that he beats the stereotype that's attached to him. Describing the pedestrian as a victim is ironic on the terms that she is; in reality, Staples stereotype perpetrator. However, choosing to use the word victim ties into his overall idea; he is surrounded by this every day judgement just by his build and color. Despite these rude actions to Staples, it is not necessarily the woman's fault for judging him because the stereotype has silently been embedded into people's subconscious mind based on media, history, and false facts. This is why he breaks that stereotype by being intentionally ironic. Whistling Beethoven. The idea that old classic symphonies correlates with intelligent, high-class minds
Staples uses the rhetorical devices ethos and pathos many places to amplify his persona. For example, on page 543, he recalls stories of experiencing thugs he grew up around being locked up or being put into the ground. This creates a sense of mournfulness and lets the audience connect with Staples and understand that he has grown up …show more content…
Although his kronos is not as apparent as his other devices, he purposely includes details about the setting and time of this story. On pages 542 through 544, Staples describes that he is in 1980s Chicago, mostly surrounded by run down areas; even telling a story in which he was mistaken for a burger in 1980. The audience may be able to pick up why he reinstated the time period he grew up in because of the crime rates in 1960 and 1980s Chicago. During both of these periods, crime rates grew exponentially; including mostly violent crimes such as: rape, murder, burglary, and kidnapping. Black men were forced to take the burden of having this awful stigma tied to them. Thus the stigma stuck to this crowd for generations in these run down cities; and essentially blamed for the actions of others, just because they shared the same skin color. Using this prior knowledge of history, audiences can further understand the previous setting of stereotypes and judgement before even reading about Staple’s specific struggles. Many phrases used by Staples in “Walk on By” are ironic descriptions, such as using “victim” in line one, and describing the ironic way that he beats the stereotype that's attached to him. Describing the pedestrian as a victim is ironic on the terms that she is; in reality, Staples stereotype perpetrator. However, choosing to use the word victim ties into his overall idea; he is surrounded by this every day judgement just by his build and color. Despite these rude actions to Staples, it is not necessarily the woman's fault for judging him because the stereotype has silently been embedded into people's subconscious mind based on media, history, and false facts. This is why he breaks that stereotype by being intentionally ironic. Whistling Beethoven. The idea that old classic symphonies correlates with intelligent, high-class minds