Living a dream driven life is not easy in many aspects. It requires courage and devotion with various trials and errors. Numerous people allow others to make their lives unhappy by the judgments based on appearance, and or plain stereotypes. Judging and stereotyping others can leave positive and negative effects on them. In Brent Staples’ article “Just Walk On By” he talks about how “he can alter public space in unpleasant ways (Staples).” Public space is a social space that is generally open and accessible to people. There are several people who believe they possess a power to alter public space. Public space may be altered in positive and negative ways. Several people may believe that his purpose for writing this article is to inform people that every person is different and how unconscious prejudice and …show more content…
The main purpose of an article is what the reader should learn from it. For instance, the main purpose for “Just Walk On By” is to show the world how unconscious prejudice and racism still exist. Staples uses many rhetorical devices in his writing to help the reader understand his point of view. He uses rhetorical devices such as onomatopoeia, hyperbole, and diction. Diction is a tremendous part of this article. He uses words such as “As I swung onto the avenue behind her (Staples),” and “Both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket (Staples).” Although he did not hurt her, the words swung, shoved and bulky creates a more aggressive feel of the image perceived by the reader. An onomatopoeia is the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. The formation of the word “thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk (Staples)” is associated with the sound of a car horn. Staples also uses hyperboles in this article. For example, “I reached the ripe old age of 22 (Staples)…” In the section of the article, Staples exaggerates how elderly the age of 22 actually
People use the word okay nearly every day. It is a word that everyone knows and uses due to its vast meanings. To be okay, is what Gary D. Schmidt’s novel Okay for Now really tries to get readers to understand. He poses the question: just what does “okay for now” mean? These answers are found through examining the characters in the store. While, okay can mean many different things, being okay means that the person is in a state where while things are not perfect, but they are tolerable and satisfactory and can improve.
Dreams are there to make the illusion of the impossible, you must always strive to do the impossible. Two people have shown that it is possible to achieve the impossible, and those two people are Althea Gibson and Barbara Jordan, and those two people had done their absolute best to make sure that they make it, and to make sure they make they succeed in life. In the article Althea Gibson and Barbara C. Jordan, both written by Frank Lafe They were both faced with obstacles that didn't want them to succeed, they had dreams that had seemed impossible for them to be able to achieve at that time. Both of them had different environments that affected their future, the environments around people affect the person too. All of those describe the lives
Brent Staples, who was a journalist of the New York Times, and studied mental philosophy from the University of the Chicago, shows the different subject positions in his published version of the “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space”, and his draft version of the “Just Walk on By”. Brent Staples wrote two different versions of the essay, but the each essay’s subject position is pretty different to the reader. Also, each subject position describes the same situation quite differently by illustrating each way of looking based on dissimilar perspectives. In his Published version, he describes himself “I was twenty-two years old, a graduate student newly arrived at the University of Chicago”(Staples 240). Also, the published version says, “To her, the youngish black man—a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket—seemed menacingly close”(Staples 240). However, in another version, which is the draft version of the essay before publication, he draws himself “I was wearing my navy pea jacket, the collar turned up, my hands snug in the pockets”(Staples “Another Version”). In another version of his essay, there is no describes the woman’s position who ran away after saw the writer of this personal essay. Without the title, and the author of the writer, those two personal essays seems entirely different to the reader, and each subject positions of these essays makes same situation diversely, which means each perspective and ways of looking make two different essays
A dream to see an end to prejudice. A dream to reach the promise land. Although
The Dream was defined by having the “best of the best.” In the 1950s, a variety of people had access to the “best” things, and the traditional American Dream was at risk and the new American Dream had begun to emerge. Packard stated that because of the crumbling of the American Dream, people had been scrambling to find new ways to draw lines between the elect and the non-elect. Society has always had a desire to associate people in different categories, whether it be race or religion, and it had gone so far as to redefine what the American Dream truly was, and how to separate who was living it and who was not. However, defining the Dream became difficult when society realized they could no longer separate people by material things. Packard recognized this and stated that in terms of a person’s productive role in society versus his consuming role, class lines had become rigid, forcing a person to advocate for himself instead of buying things that automatically gave him a societal boost. The risk of the American Dream increased and became threateningly out of reach, leaving people in a constant state of what felt like personal
“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.” This quote from Walt Disney addressing the concept of achieving dreams is very accurate, and can be seen throughout literature today and in the past. Dreams can give people power or take away hope, and influence how people live their lives based upon whether they have the determination to attack their dreams or not; as seen through characters like the speaker in Harlem by Langston Hughes and Lena and Walter Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in The Sun.
The surrounding environment affects all people in our society. We are born from various backgrounds, either complicated or simple. We encounter people everyday of great variety and diversity, and we are faced with situations that could be either tough or easy. Among all these factors that could affect us, people is the one that plays the most significant role. Like the two Wes Moore in the book, they are surrounded by people, connected to people, and influenced by people. Those people, regardless of whether intentional or unintentional, led the two Wes’ to two different paths by their thoughts, words and decisions.
Although Staples is “free,” the constant stigma he experiences acts like chains grounding him to constant judgment. Staples consistently causes unsettling thoughts in prejudice minds. The American Dream is the ideal that everyone should have an equal opportunity to attain success and prosperity, through hard work and determination. Staples grew up “one of the good boys” determined to succeed (2). In his twenty’s, he obtained a college degree from the University of Chicago. Staples is deprived from an equal opportunity to achieve the dream because in America’s culture he is perceived as a danger to society. Although Staples is far from a threat, he feels the urge to calm pedestrians near him with the use of soothing tunes. Staples writes, “I employ what has proved to be a excellent tension-reduction measure: I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers”(2). This measure has a positive response and the individuals near Staples join in on the tune. Staples’ American Dream is limited by feeling the need to please those around him. Even though Staples has all that is needed to succeed, he will be forever limited by the color of his skin.
The second meaning of the American dream is that of social justice, and the inclusion of all in the social and political aspects of American life. This is the American dream that is best illustrated in Frederick Douglass’ narrative. This is the dream that was sought by the civil rights movement, which was focused on widening opportunities for all Americans, regardless of their race or social status. This American dream is however more tightly intertwined with race, than with social status. Douglass’ narrative demonstrates the challenges faced by members of minority races in America in their pursuit of the American dream of equal opportunity, upward mobility, and inclusion in other social and political aspects of American life.
Oftentimes, in the public, people have to be “normal” to be successful and accepted. Author William Saroyan believes that society steers people to be conform and fit in, but he disagrees. In the short story “Gaston,” Saroyan shows that carving a unique path can turn out to be erroneous. Through symbolism and contrast, Saroyan conveys the theme that society does not always accept people’s differences.
Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun pertains to how societal views can greatly impact a person’s choices or lifestyle. A Raisin in the Sun deals with the Younger family faces discrimination based off of something that they can’t control, such as race and gender. During the time of the play, inequality was the norm. Injustice was completely inevitable, unless you were a white male. The author clearly depicted how prejudice can have a lasting effect on people. Society’s mentality can alter a person’s life, which is completely inhumane. Each member of the Younger family has their own personal dream. Each Younger’s individual dream reflects on their psychological wellbeing. However, the difference in their dreams creates a conflict among the family. A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the idea that humanity has tendency to dream big even when times seem bleak. The Younger family faced racism, sexism, and domestic endeavors within their household, but their dreams for a better life seem to keep them
In the United States there is an idea many pursue called the American dream, which differs from person to person. The American dream according to americanradioworks.publicradio.org is “a revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition”. Yet it has been said there is no real definition of American dream, instead it merely proves that it has an unconscious influence in American mentality (Ştiuliuc 1). The American dream is different for each person because everyone yearns for things that will they hope will in return make them happy. Whatever that may be, each person goes through different struggles to obtain what they want. According to Frederic Carpenter, the American dream “has never been defined exactly, and probably never can be. It is both too various and too vague” (3). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse depicts the different interpretations on what the American dream actually is through the opinions and actions of Hector Esperanza, Efren Mendoza and Mrs. Calhoun.
In the essay American Dreams, Kevin Jennings believes his American dream is impossible to achieve as society’s injustices and prejudices demoralized his sexuality and identity. Growing up in a rural community of Lewisville, North Carolina, Kevin Jennings came from poor beginnings. He descended from poor white confederates. After his father’s demise, Jennings’ life became more miserable. His mother, having limited credentials and worked only at McDonald’s, took care of him. Inspired by his workaholic mother, Kevin’s sheer determination and hard work propelled him to earn a scholarship at Harvard University. At Harvard, he experienced injustices of life. He
Full of faux optimism, the single-minded and determined dreamers push onward in the pursuit of their dreams. Like a dingy in the ocean being thrown by the currents, these idealists may face opposition that defy explanation. Still, they push on. They refuse to turn back to their past, where their dreams might
...matter in my own life. Being an overweight, African American woman, it is hard to be in particular situations as a minority. Ranging from my college experience as a predominately Caucasian institution, or simply in the workplace under the same demographics, it is hard to feel as though you are not good enough. It is hard to find a sense of confidence when you are surrounded by individuals who do not believe in you. Therefore, I can definitely relate to Dorothy Allison’s statements regarding what it feels like to grow up as an outcast, overcome, and conquer your dreams.