Just Walk On By

"Just Walk On By" By Brent Staples

  Questions and Answers

 

Dustin Saunders

Preston Allen

Connor Allen

Madeleine Seltzer

 

Comprehension 

 

1. It describes and exemplifies that he has the power to put her in the category of a victim.

 

2. He fits the stereotype of being dangerous and therefore he has the ability to alter public space or to alter the feelings of other people.

 

3. It is a way to interact with his environment and a way to get around. He lived in major walking cities such as Manhattan and Chicago.

 

4. They usually do not have the means to achieve higher goals and in poor neighborhoods it is usually romanticized to choose the life of a young thug rather than a quiet sensitive type.

 

5. He tries to change his persona by changing his presentation and body language. He even whistles a non threatening tune to let the people know he is harmless.

 

Purpose and Audience

 

1. He states his thesis and it is "it was in the echo that terrifies woman's footfalls that I first began to know the unwiedly inheritance I'd come into-the ability to alter public space in ugly ways."

 

2. Both were used. He provides examples that are backed up by both logic and emotion to capture the reader and persuade them further.

 

3. The preconception is that if you are walking at night and run into a tall black man then you are in danger of being mugged, raped or robbed.

 

4. He is trying to paint a picture of his experience and explain the effect his presence has.

 

Style and Structure

 

1. He mentions Norman Podhoretz because it is introducing someone else's point of view. It is also a logical example instead of just a personal experience. It gives the essay variety.

 

2. It was a very effective strategy because it hooks the reader and starts the essay off with an example.

 

3. It is very convincing and he uses several examples and several different types of examples.

 

4. He spreads out the personal experience examples and the logical points of view of others. He lists several examples in a row but then shortly after goes into detail about a specific one. It was easy to follow and understand.

 

5. Thug- criminal, mugger, deviant, gangster, bad boy, delinquent, hard ass, tough, hooligan, hoodlum. They all convey the same idea.

 

Journal Entry

 

Being a white young woman it is hard to come off as threatening. Once, I was outside late at night with a hood on and a backpack, and my neighbor saw me and was put off. He proceeded to call my parents to make sure that I was not being disobedient and then never called me to babysit his kid again.

 

Writing Workshop

 

3. Intimidation is associated with power and the most masculine usually wins. If a man backs down from a physical fight or shows any signs of feminity, he is perceived as weak. There is most definetly a romance surrounding intimidation.

 

Combining the Patterns

 

He could have been more clear of the steps in becoming a thug. He is relatively clear about the aftermath and the process after a young man is classified as a thug but there could have been more detail in the upbringing of it.

 

 

 

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