When attempting to influence an audience it is important for the speaker or writer to establish the relationship he or she has towards the audience from the beginning. Whether reading or listening, the receiver will establish the speaker’s virtue and goodwill towards the audience. Nevertheless, it is important to note that a messenger may also perverse this in order to use this in his or her favor. For example, Brent Staples, in his essay “Black Men and Public Spaces”, presents himself as a literate yet dangerous interlocutor. One can see this from his paragraph, due to his use of diction and management of suspense, drawing the reader in to read the rest of the text. For him, what is dangerous about seeming dangerous is that sometimes people actually believe themselves to be dangerous, often leading to negative consequences.
Staples’ ethos is that of a dangerous, yet reliable and intelligent narrator. One can see this through his diction, showing the graduate-level studies that he professes to have. “It was in the echo of that terrified woman's footfalls that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I'd come into-the ability to alter public space in ugly ways” (Staples 1). Even though he is obviously very intelligent and learned, people still see him as dangerous, something that he also transmits in his writing. “The fearsomeness mistakenly attributed to me in public places often has a perilous flavor” (Staples 2). Even though he may be very intelligent, people attribute dangerousness to him, something that he must obviously deal with.
One can see this from the first paragraph, in which he masterfully draws the reader in. He talks about his first victim, implying that there are more. Furthermore, his syntax and vocabulary lure the reader in, being suspenseful, yet, at the same time, delicious to read. Furthermore, the reader cannot really understand what the woman is a victim of from the first paragraph, leading him or her to want to read the rest to find about this victim, the others, and for the mere pleasure of reading good writing.
Staples believes that the most dangerous part of being perceived as a dangerous person is that one can actually believe it. Throughout the story, he marks how his obliviousness to this characteristic that the others project onto him has helped him along; conversely, he shows how it has harmed others. In this latter sense, he writes, “I recall the points at which some of my boyhood friends were finally seduced by the perception of themselves as tough guys” (Staples 2). Furthermore, he says that this has led to many deaths and imprisonments due to this factor. At first, he begins to show his ignorance towards this state by stating, “It is not altogether clear to me how I reached the ripe old age of twenty-two without being conscious of the lethality nighttime pedestrians attributed to me” (Staples 2). Indeed, this is something that would seem to be notorious, and it would be difficult for somebody to escape the race relations in America. Nevertheless, he then takes steps to modify this view that the others have of him, stating, “I began to take precautions to make myself less threatening” (Staples 2); this included whistling classical music and keeping distance from others.
In conclusion, Staples attempts to come off as a dangerous, yet learned man. One can see this from the first paragraph, which draws the reader in through suspense and scrumptious writing. This parallels his image in real life, as he has had to make himself not look as dangerous in public spaces for others. It is astonishing to see how race relations are still such an important topic in America after so many years.
Works Cited
Staples, Brent. “Black Men and Public Spaces.” 1986. PDF.
