In Black Men and Public Spaces by Brent Staples, author demonstrates order of magnitude of racial discrimination and unconscious prejudice that existed in the society against Black Americans. Author utilizes numerous rhetorical techniques in this piece of work to catch readers’ attention to his viewpoint. He achieves this applying diction, pathos, an amusing writing style. While going through. This article is mainly based diction and it can be seen in following words where he said that, he swung into the avenue behind her or he said that both hands squeezed into his large armed forces jacket. The words swung, jostled and bulky create a more aggressive feel to the images comprehended by the reader. Other words where he utilizes to create his feeling are, “After a few more quick glances, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest”. Another way he utilizes diction is to establish his intelligence. He does that when he says, the fearsomeness mistakenly attributed to me in a public places often has a perilous flavor, the descriptive words he utilizes are unique and create a feel of an educated individual.
Most probably, the barest method utilized within his writing is metaphors, which is the evaluation of two different things to each other for metaphorical effect. He utilizes this approach in on the statements from this article, i.e. "I chose, perhaps unconsciously, to remain a shadow--timid, but a survivor." and, "I whistle melodies from Beethoven and VivaldiIt is my equivalent of the cowbell that hikers wear when they know they are in bear country (Staples 225-227)." Brent Staples utilizes this approach to bring out how much he had to be on guard in order to live on. By using metaphors, author lets the reader to better understand his perspective and the forethoughts he was enforced to take.
Apart from all this, a unique and effective rhetorical approach used by author is imagery; where he utilizes descriptive writing style, which depicts vivid sensory details and figurative language, attract his reader. There are a few examples in this literary piece of work, i.e. he says that he was to become methodically well-known with the words of fear, other than that, where sidewalks are constrict and strongly separated edifices shut out the sky and he says that they seemed to have set their expressions on achromatic, and with their bag straps drew throughout their chest bandoleer style, they fashion in front as if energizing themselves against personifying undertook. This rhetorical approach makes a reader to better understand writer’s viewpoint depicted in this article. Staples writing style is very convincing and evocative which better comprehend the reader.
Another approach used by him employs a self-blame, where his statement sounds as if he conceives it to be his mistake that people are frightened and prejudiced against him. This statement engages the compassion and sympathy of his readers. The examples of this can be found in his statement where he said that his first victim was a woman or he then taken precautions to be made himself less threatening), and he primarily started to know the awkward hereditary pattern that he had come into the ability to alter public space in unattractive ways.
Another technique utilized is the technique which where he demonstrates that how he responds sensitively to these states of affairs. By demonstrating his feelings in his written material Staples demonstrates that he found himself as the only human, like others, and hence a readers can recount to as they have responded in really same mode to states of affairs in their own lives. We can see instances of these feelings when he says, The kind of disaffection that comes of being ever the suspicious, a frightening unit with whom walkers pass up producing eye contact, and over the years, he learnt to fuddle the passion that he felt at frequently for being accused.
Staples explored racism and its troubles, he tells his personal experiences with racial discrimination and how did he felt throughout his life while growing up as a black male. He depicts his grimness’s with racial discrimination in order to demonstrate how he defeated these commotions and become a better man. The signified audience could be anybody truly, especially individuals clambering with racial discrimination themselves .
I feel this work by Brent Staples was insightful. Staples really convey what racial discrimination was like for him and all clambers he experienced. I also felt that there was not a single starting or ceasing point to his story. I realize his entailing to written material this story but his closing could have carried his point more distinctly. During the whole story he did not come out and said why did he write the story, it is as if emphasized entailing readers have to read into or just realize themselves.
Finally, it can be said that this article is enjoyable, especially the way Staples utilized more complicated and multifaceted sentences with the infrequent straightforward and short sentence. It provides an exclusive writing style that makes his piece of work very enjoyable and attractive to reader. This is a very enlightening article prejudices some people are forced to face every day. Besides that, Brent Staples contributed in particulars about his past times and the states of affairs that he had faced which heightens this piece of work to make it more educational and thoughtful. A staple utilizes sarcasm and humor in his writing to get the reader to connect with him. This lets the reader be more likely to consider his argument. Staples describe the physiological personal effects that make up one's mind that how an individual intends and behaves grounded on a stereotype about blacks. Author of this work provides evidence of his ability to smack panic in the public by just being a "rough-looking" black male in community by referring all his unparalleled showdowns with the law, women, and other public and American society. In an attempt to live out of danger, he limits his standard way of moving himself by burden with things like whistling Beethoven in public just to be sensed his goodness to society. In this story, he tries to make young adult males concentrated who can judges by the way they look.
Works Cited
Staples, Brent. “Black Men and Public Spaces.” Harper's 1986: 225–227. Print.
