Brent Staples Influence On Identity

Each and every person on this Earth today has an identity. Over the years, each individual creates their identity through past experiences, family, race, and many other factors. Race, which continues to cause problems in today’s world, places individuals into certain categories. Based on their race, people are designated to be part of a larger, or group identity instead of being viewed as a person with a unique identity. Throughout Richard Wright’s Black Boy, Richard is on a search for his true identity. Throughout Black Boy, one can see that Richard’s racial background assigns him with a certain identity or a certain way in which some

In the short essay, “Black Men in Public Space” written by Brent Staples, discusses his own experiences on how he is stereotyped because he is an African American and looks intimidated in “public places” (Staples 225). Staples, an intelligent man that is a graduate student at University of Chicago. Due to his skin complexity, he is not treated fairly and always being discriminated against. On one of his usual nightly walks he encountered a white woman. She took a couple glances at him and soon began to walk faster and avoided him that night. He decided to change his appearance so others would not be frightened by his skin color. He changed the way he looked and walked. Staples dressed sophisticated to look more professional so no

In "Black Men and Public Space," Brent Staples writes about how he was treated differently throughout his life due to his race by using connotative diction that invites ethos and pathos. Staples describes the problems, discrimination, and disapprovals he faces being a black man in public places. Staples explains how through his lifetime, people have discriminated against him because he is an African American man who works as a writer in a primarily Caucasian field. Brent Staples explains, the first time he understood how much his presence startled or concerned others was after an experience he had when he used to take late night walks as a graduate student. In addition to his first experience Staples describes countless other different occurrences of when he felt he had been discriminated against by other people based on his race. Staples has constantly been seen as a threat or criminal solely because of the color of his skin, leading him to have to deal with many distressing situations.

Even in modern society, the simplest of things can shift the delicate atmosphere. A black man entering a room, or any space, full of white people, can automatically transform the ambiance. This ‘ability’ may not be a desired effect, but in certain situations, it becomes inevitable. Through the use of different rhetorical devices, Brent Staples is able to demonstrate his realization of his “ability to alter public space in ugly ways” simply because of his race and stature in his essay, “Black Men and Public Space.” Staples uses the rhetorical techniques ethos, logos, and pathos in order to get on the “same side” as the reader while still presenting the essence of his argument. The author is able to sympathize with his “victims” and justify their feelings, appealing to ethos. He also analogies and details about his background, such as his doctorate in psychology, and the fact that he was a reporter to appeal to logos. Additionally, by using vivid imagery and creative diction, he engages the reader by use of pathos, evoking the emotions of the reader. With the use of rhetorical devices, Staples is able to effectively describe his experiences of being perceived as a criminal, solely based on his “unwieldy inheritance” (205), while, additionally, extending this concept to be true throughout society.

Work creates an identity for a person also. Whether its promotions to a higher position or being unsatisfied and distraught with their job. People who enjoy their job and work environment will create more of a confident identity compared to someone who does not will have an un-motivated identity. School has an impact as well when it comes to identity. It is where a children, adolescents, and adults are influenced by acquiring knowledge and constantly being surrounded by peers. Through school, memberships in friendship groups, cliques, or "crews" helps build an identity apart from their relationship to parents. However, over-identification with a clannish group that rejects anyone who looks or acts different can limit personal growth.

Brent Staples “Black Men and Public Space” is a look at how people perceive black people in the 1960s. Staples explains how people would treat him on a day to day basis. Even when he was a child he would be looked at differently because of his color. He quickly establishes ethos, logos and pathos credibility tough the many examples. This article shows the injustices done to him while living in New York. Brent Staples Black Men and Public Space uses pathos, ethos, and logos effectively throughout the essay.

As a target of racism and prejudice, Brent Staple wrote Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space. Throughout this essay he explains his personal experience in public spaces and the stereotypes he has faced. Since society has deeply embedded their views of “blacks,” just their presence induces fear and causes unnecessary feelings and emotions to arise. Staples presents no anger in his decision to alter his actions and his appearance to ease those around him despite his skin tone. Societal views on blacks are based on reputations as a whole and not on each individual person, Staples presents this through the uses of point of view, ethos, and pathos.

In the essay, "Black Men and Public Space" by Brent Staples, the main idea states that the main character, whose name was unknown, gave a negative perception to the general public by the way he looked. Staples goes on to say that the unknown character could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and hear the hammering of door locks as people were scared of the possibility that he might approach them. The author says that the character moved to New York and often saw women who would fear the worst in him. Staples writes about how one of the character’s worst moments was when he worked as a journalist in Chicago, he was mistaken for a burglar. Concluding the essay, Staples describes how the character comes up with the idea to imitate

In the essay “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples I witness the problems that African American men must go through. Is it right to judge people by appearance alone? I don’t think it is okay for people to deal with that. In the world today racial profiling still exists, People of color must walk and talk a certain way just to appease those who are near. In this essay, Brent Staples is that man who has to adjust his behavior in public to ease the nerves of anyone who may be near to him.

What would it feel like to walk into a room and be mistaken for a criminal based solely on race? This is a normal occurrence for Brent Staples, an African American author and journalist who has experienced various forms of prejudice throughout his life. In the essay, “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Ability to Alter Public Space,” Staples’s diction, irony, and examples help him to explain that, although he is an innocent man, racial stereotypes make people think differently about who he really is. Staples’s powerful diction helps him to explain how much of an impact his race has on his life. As a “youngish black man” with a “beard and billowing hair,” Staples has the ability to “alter space in ugly ways.”

There is many things that shape identity big things and small things such as family, religion or even random people they have met in public. For example Juliet wouldn't be the same without her parents she would be alive and would have never met Romeo. One of the biggest things that shape someone's identity is life experiences, whether it's if you lost your dad or met an amazing person life experiences are a huge factor in shaping one's identity.

In Brent Staples’ personal essay “Black Men and Public Space”, he tells the readers what happen to a young black man in an urban setting. He pinpointed that people often stereotype you because of color, race, gender, culture or appearance. In addition, the author expresses to us that he notices the space between him and other people, such as women on the street. Some people may disagree that women set a certain amount of space when walking by a black man on the street. This statement is not true and public space is not about race, gender, color, culture, or appearance.

“Identity”, “Masquerade”, and “Wing$” reveal that we struggle to be ourselves. In each of these pieces, the authors show how it may be hard to stand out and not conform to be like everyone else. “Identity”, a poem by Julio Naboa, explains how it is good to be yourself rather than to be the same as others. He writes, “Shunned by everyone than to be a pleasant-smelling flower…praised, handled, and plucked…” The author’s message in his part of the poem reveals that it is better to be disliked than to be part of a group with no individuality. It is not very appealing to be out casted, and it is easier to just conform and be like everyone else. “Masquerade”, from Phantom of the Opera, also shows how it can get hard to be ourselves. The actors sing,

Individuals construct their own identities through interactions with people in general society. That construction can range from the alterations people make to themselves every day to either fit or separate themselves from stereotypes set by society from the association with how one looks. This can impact the identities and the perceived identities of those individuals, in this case, Brent Staples, Dick Gregory, and Khalid Latif. Each faced discrimination through stereotypes by different mode of assignment during various periods in time and how it affected their choice to adapt and reconcile their identities with their perceived identities.

In “ The Name of the Wind” Patrick Rothfuss once said, “ It’s like everyone tells a story themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.” Our identity is what we know ourselves by how others view us in the world. Their many identities that we have some examples are race, gender, fashion, class, sexuality, etc. All these identities shape the way we think, act, and view the world. We may not know it, but our identities impact one another either in a negative or positive way. Either we make our identities by our interests or what we feel like we should be viewed as. Some let others make their identity for them, they’re influenced by what they see on T.V. mainly by what celebrities are wearing. I know for me when I was younger I would watch all these NBA games and see these players wear Jordans. Jordan 's back when I was a youngin and still today where cool shoes you had popularity if you had Jordans. All the cool kids had Jordan 's and I wanted to be like that a cool kid. So I acted like someone I wasn 't, buying many pairs of Jordan’s (which are expensive) so I can fit in and so everyone can know me as a cool kid because as a little boy at Colonia Middle School I wanted to have recognition as the kid with the expensive shoes and the showy clothes. Also, I was pressured by my surroundings to buy these items because I saw a lot of kids being bullied for wearing inexpensive clothes and I didn 't