William Raspberry is a late American public affairs columnist, author, and professor who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his columns in The Washington Post. Raspberry’s style is distinguished by specific-to-general organizational structure, rhetorical questions, engaging ideas and events, strong appeal to his credibility and open-ended conclusions. Raspberry’s columns “Our Lost Community”, “Two Storms, Ample Warning”, and “The Price of Low Expectations”, demonstrate his everlasting style on society. Raspberry often opens his columns with a specific problem relating to today’s society. By providing relevant information, the reader can instantly be drawn in and connect with the argument. In the introduction of “The Price of Low Expectations”, Raspberry brings to attention the imprisonment and custody of black men being “under half of all young black men in the District of Columbia were in prison, on parole or probation . . . In Baltimore one in five black men aged 20 to 30 was in custody”. Likewise, “Our Lost Community”, addresses the lack of community our country has been having since Hurricane Katrina. Raspberry uses these situations to give a specific example of the topic he’s about to address. In addition, before transitioning from his introduction, Raspberry uses emotionally provocative sentences such as “numbers like these are no longer a surprise”and “we can’t count on each other” to further indicate his position while also grabbing the reader’s
Staples starts off his article with an intriguing line: “My first victim was a woman” (Staples para 1). This is a great example of a startling statement hook that interests the reader right away and makes them want to read more. The first paragraph begins by revealing a personal story from the past, of a woman in the park. Telling this story, allows the audience to understand his point of view and see what he has experienced. He organizes the sentences and paragraphs perfectly, as he switches between the past and the present very efficiently. Staples uses the paragraphs effectively to switch between personal stories and serious logical points as shown when he states: “I moved to New York nearly two years ago” (Staples para 4) versus the start of the next paragraph, “Black men have a firm place in New York mugging literature” (Staples para 5). The logic behind it is to keep the audience entertained while he inserts his arguments and logical points. By doing this, he manages to get his points across while keeping it an interesting story that people want to read.
After reading Chapter 3 of “High Price” by Dr. Carl Hart, I learned he lived with his mother and father until the as halfway thru the second grade. Then got a divorce and he stayed with his father for about two week, but once his father realized that he was unable to take care, he then went to live with his Big Mama. His great grandmother was a Bahamian woman. She came to the United States when she was a young adult. His big mama was a women who believed and stressed that going school and being self sufficient was important. She believed that a black men in this society had no chance if they weren’t educated. Dr. Carl Hart’s family based their family morals off of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, based on the beliefs of the his grandmother and great grandmother. His great grandmother followed role of W. E. B. DuBois, because she believed that education was important and this was a way for African Americans can advance. Although his great grandmother believed that education was important, she did not believe that it would not help someone of his race in a world where racism played a big part of being successful. Carl’s father would promise to pick him up on the weekends and would never show or even showed up drunk. Although his father was an alcoholic, Carl didn’t mind it he just wanted to be around him. Being the his great grandmother loved him dearly, his great grandmother loved him and always had his back. When Carl’s father didn’t play a the role of being a
He wants his readers to imagine the pain and humiliation of the ill treatment that African Americans endure on a daily basis. King writes of vicious mobs lynching people’s mothers and fathers, policemen killing people’s brothers and sisters, a man and his wife not receiving the proper respect they deserve because of their skin color, and the notion that African Americans feel insignificant within their communities; this is why these peaceful demonstrators of whom the clergymen attack “find it difficult to wait” (King, 20). However, King believes that soon, injustice will be exposed, like “a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up” (King, 30). This vivid description helps arouse an emotional response, driving shame into the hearts of his white readers.
Glen Loury argues in his essay called “A Nation of Jailer” that the United States is a nation that follows a society that has been affected by racial bias. Loury claims that the people who are targeted by law are racial discriminated. Loury mainly talks about the “poorly educated black and Hispanic men who reside in large numbers in our great urban centers.” (1) Loury has made a clear and strong point. Loury shows his points in three main ways. Loury emphasizes his points by using ethos, logos, and pathos. Loury uses many well-known characters in his writing, and Loury uses strong phrases that impact the reader emotionally and questions to make sure the reader has some sort of connection to Loury’s evidence. Furthermore, Loury gives a lot
In Brent Staples’ “Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Space” he forces women to recognize the feeling of estrangement from the surrounding public that he has endured. He first took notice at the age of twenty two, when his own self-judgement resulted from scaring a woman when solely walking at night near his college, the University of Chicago. He maintained his dejected attitude when he wrote that a few years later, his own work mistook him for a thief instead of a journalist. Brent Staples heightened his frustration by mentioning a black male journalist who was blamed as a killer in a murder, instead of the writer reporting it. In portraying two versions of his story, he proves that this was a rather common and difficult occurrence for not only him, but others of his race. To attempt to resolve this, he decided to attempt to cross the street or sing classical songs to portray innocence. In this article, Staples’ forces his audience to encounter the hypocrisy in which all black men are dangerous. He concluded the essay with the realization that you can't change what people think, only attempt to show them who you are. Brent Staples appeals to the audience through his emotionally charged language with the use of his experiences with unconscious prejudice.
Staple’s “Black Men in Public Spaces” and Rae’s “The Struggle” address misperceptions with ethnicity. Staples and Rae share similar circumstances making it easy to understand each viewpoint. Culture settings and gender define the authors’ differences. Both essays give the readers different perceptions of African Americans’ lives.
“I Am Not Your Negro” displays the adversities that Black Americans face in American society.
By concentrating on an ethological approach, Dickerson also makes her family disconnect from stereotypes. In first person point of view, she is able to describe her situation through her knowledge and background. For example, Dickerson describes Johnny with a settled and calm tone of voice. She writes, “Johnny speaks little, never cries, never complains, works diligently to become independent” (225). Because he is black, most people would associate Johnny with violence and gangs. In Black Men and Public Space by Brent Staples, a black men strolling down the avenue was assumed to be a criminal. The color of his skin, in correlation to his environment, evoked a sense of danger. However, through an educated voice, Johnny is not that dangerous black kid who got shot. Johnny is a sensitive victim of an unfortunate shooting. It is very easy to label an individual according to racial status. For this reason, Dickerson is required to inform the reader of elements that do not support these stereotypes. The disconnection from stereotypes satisfies her objection, and broadens the perspective of society.
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.
John Lewis initiates his claim by conveying that everyone in America should not tolerate racial segregation nor discrimination. In order to reach to his point, he uses the rhetorical device, pathos, in which it causes the “white” audience to feel remorse for what society has become. To illustrate this idea, Lewis reveals African Americans “live in constant fear of a police state”, “have been arrested on trumped charges”, and some faced “the death penalty for engaging in peaceful protest” (paragraph 2). The evidence highlights that they are going through hardships caused by the federal government because they are considered “inferior” compared to the “white” race. From this, readers can infer that white supremacy is being marked on the walls. Lewis is able to awaken Americans so they can realize how their actions are wounding African Americans. In addition, Lewis is representing the African American community so they can feel inspired to join the Civil Rights Movement. Possibly the speaker is trying to drag the African Americans out of their state of oblivion by incentivizing them to defend their rights. Lewis is addressing the problems to both audiences so they can feel the urge to fix them. Therefore, Lewis’ remarks in the first paragraph reveal that he identifies with the concerns of African Americans and how whites, mainly activists, should focus on addressing their issues.
The fight for civil rights and freedom is a reoccurring subject that has appeared throughout American history. Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” were written over one hundred years apart. Although they are set in different time periods, they discuss the rights the American people should have, while also criticizing the people with superior power in the government. Thoreau’s aggressive writing style and King’s peaceful, calm style help to deliver their messages. Not only their writing style but also their emotional appeals, tone, and other rhetorical strategies help to give their audience a sense of the social issues they are disagreeing strongly with.
When communicating any type of text, the way you deliver it to the audience is just as significant as the content of your writing. Authors tend to use multiple rhetorical devices that add additional excitement or interest to their work. By performing this, it helps to engage the audience so the text appeals to them sincerely. The novel March, written by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell does an excellent job at exhibiting this over the various uses of rhetoric throughout the text. Therefore, March persuades that an individual’s approach to their mission requires a great effort by displaying concerned expressions, lonely narrative texts and the chaotic graphics of the protests.
To engage a large audience, Staples appeals to readers with his use to two different points of views throughout the essay: societal views and black views. Staples tries to connect with the readers by giving examples of unconscious thoughts that run through the minds of most people when in the same situation as the “white women.” In his opening sentence, Staples calls the women a “victim.” In her own eyes, she herself was “victim” due to the influence of generalized stereotypes presented in our culture. She becomes quick to judge based on Staples appearance: his skin tone. Because of his color, his every action becomes nothing but threats and anxiety on the women. “She casted a back worried glance. To her, the youngish black- broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a
“We are a nation that professes freedom, yet we have this mass incarceration, this hyper-incarceration, that is trawling into it, grinding into it, our most vulnerable citizenry, and is overwhelmingly biased towards people of color.” Booker’s quote serves to question the hypocrisy of our “democratic” government leaders. The American government has two faces: one for whites and the other for minorities. It comes out into the public and wears garments that portray freedom and equality for all. However, it reveals its bare self when it incarcerates and abuses minorities’ freedom to make rich white men more wealthy and powerful.
I walk into the Charger Union and look around me. I see many people but I quickly notice that none of them see me. Each one of the people that I see is absorbed in his device whether texting, picture messaging, browsing the web, or playing a game. I meandered to some tables in the center to grab a seat with my lively friend who was munching on some wings. As I look more intently around me, I notice that there are two juniors playing ping pong. As they rally for each point, I hear shouts of joy and pain and I can see their rich personalities oozing through their expressions. In his autobiography, Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington tells each reader to “Cast down your bucket where you are” (##). In saying this, Washington is promoting the active, present living of each human being.