Rhetorical Analysis Of Just Walk On By

In the essay, “Just walk on By,” Staples speaks of the struggle he and black men go through with society and their stereotypical view of black men. The way the minds of individuals were shaped are seen in this essay. Staples elaborates when speaking of his own experience as a writer, sympathy and stereotypes are Staples main argument; he makes individuals aware of the struggles black men endure due to stereotypes and the way they are portrayed in them.
Strong diction allows Staples to emphasizes on the tension between white and black races. Diction such as, “victim,” “stalking,” and “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways,” show how individuals were shaped to perceive those with darker skin tones, the black race. These words explore the intensity of situations inter-racial individuals encounter. “I was

surprised, dismayed and embarrassed all at once,” the disappointment he felt, is shown by the way he says he cannot even take a knife to a raw chicken.

The audience understands how difficult it must be to be carrying on with your day, minding your own business and suddenly be seen as a mugger. As an individual who could possibly hurt another soul. He was not disappointed in himself, nor the woman, but rather society and its incorrect assumptions of black men. Making the audience feel concern toward him, the audience considers his perspective on the issue. “Yet these truths are no solace against the kind of alienation that comes of being ever the suspect.” Women constantly being victims is a truth, women being seen as weak are the reason they are normally attacked; on the other hand, what is not true and overrepresented is the violence that come with black men. Even the knowledge that women are constantly easy preys, does not comfort Staples; there is no comfort because black men are also victims, victims of being wrongly accused for acts that few committed. When he encountered a woman on the street he demonstrated her

fear by saying, “Women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented among their perpetrators of that violence.” Both are victims of society portraying them for something they are not. The word “alienation” he makes him seem alone against everyone else. Staples proves his credibility by not being biased towards his own race and instead keeping a neutral attitude and not placing any blame on either party.
When speaking of his rough childhood, and the traumatic experience of losing his brother to gang violence, he tries to draw the audience into feeling sympathetic for him, and all the other impoverished youth. “I was indistinguishable from the muggers who occasionally seeped into the area from the surrounding ghetto,” by saying this, the author shows the audience the fear other people experience when seeing a black man without a suit. The lack of regard many people in the generation have for each other does not help disprove society’s rules. It helps keep it going and instead allows individuals to be depicted as a malicious individual. The world and its rules show black men and women as individuals to be feared. Individuals whose only prospect in life is to hurt others. I have ment many different people of different races, I know that is not true. Yet, I do understand the feeling of having an individual following me at night. That fear is ingrained in us; the fear of having someone attack me for no reason.
Staples incorporation of ethical and emotional appeals keep himself from looking biased and makes the audience feel the emotion people feel toward the stereotype put onto the black race. By doing this Staples accomplishes his overall purpose of explaining how stereotypes affect everyday life of individuals, particularly black males.