Living in fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or to intimidate. For Staples fear is the constant emotion rattling in his head every time he simply passes by someone. “Just Walk on By” — by Brent Staples, discusses the on going problem of being considered a possible threat to those around him. Although Staples arouses fear everywhere he steps foot, Mr. Staples also is fearful himself because of the reaction he causes due to his ethnic inheritance. He lives in a world where any black man or person of color is perceived as a imitate danger. Staples has a reason to be fearful as he is in a never ending nightmare filled with hate. The sense of fear he experiences …show more content…
He writes, “black men have a firm place in New York mugging literature” (1). The literature in his time have key influence to encourage negative thoughts towards black men. Staples mentions an essay that was popularized at the time; the essay by Norman Podhoretz titled “My Negro Problem—and Ours” narrates the childhood memories of terror that he experienced while encountering men of color on specific streets. This piece of literature creates a false image and displays encounters with black men as a scene from a horror film. It inspires hate and generalizes the image of African-American men. Staples also mentions the essayist Edward Hoagland, who openly displays his prejudicial beliefs regarding black males. Hoagland states that when he encounters a black man he views him as “a mugger who is clearly screwing up his nerve to do more than just ask for money” (1). Due to Hoagland’s influence, he spreads more unnecessary hatred towards the image of this racial …show more content…
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. Brent Staples is fearful because he is constantly threatened, both physically and emotionally. Staples has justified reason to feel afraid, as he resides in a world where hate and judgement fill the minds of those around him. Due to the prejudice
The almighty American dream, commonly misconceived as the property of those who reap great materialistic wealth, has been analyzed and sought after through generations. However, this dream, “could come from anywhere and be anything you want in this country” (Goldberg), and the numerous success stories of impoverished beings proves this. This subjectiveness stems from the great diversity within human nature and the variation of goals and pleasures. The characters in novels such as The Glass Castle, To Kill a Mockingbird and the play, The Crucible, act to portray several attempts towards achieving this dream. Ultimately, the almighty American Dream manifests itself through the novels as the desire to accomplish stability and content within one’s
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.
Ralph Ellison has been claimed and interpreted by existentialist theorists and critics, since the mid-1950s. The early existentialist readings of his novel, Invisible Man, look naive today because in their emphasis on the universal dimensions of the narrator's predicaments, which are read as existentialist predicaments, they ignore the extent to which Ellison was addressing white racism. (2) Those racially-neutral readings are no longer credible in the context of the anti-racist scholarship of the second half of the twentieth century, which requires that non-white racial status and the effects of racism on that status be addressed before claims about universal humanity can be made. This requirement blocks the use of universalist claims to protect, conceal and sanitize continuing racism in public action and unspoken belief. (3) The unacceptability of generalizations from black experience, which do not acknowledge the effects of racism on that black experience, to all human experience, is mirrored by the unacceptability of generalizations from white experience to all human experience.
The American Dream offers opportunity, equality, liberty, and social mobility to those who have lost their place, such as immigrants, African Americans, and white males with little wealth. This national ethos can supposedly be achieved through hard work, and determination with few social barriers. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrates the unreachable American Dream that so many have stopped fighting for. While the American dream may theoretically promise equality for all, social status will either hinder or improve an individual 's chances of success. Through rhetorical strategies such as imagery, symbolism, and diction, Fitzgerald’s interpretation of the American Dream is developed.
Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.
In his recollection Staples refers to his time when he was ignorant to the fact that people viewed him differently as a black man. One part that stood out to me was when Staples said, “I'd been a fool. I’d been walking the streets grinning good evening to people who frightened to death of me” (Steele pg.6). This realization for Staples as i see it very much adds to the main point and idea of Whistling Vivaldi. It showed that when Staples did not realize he was being discriminated against he was happy and content just being himself, but once it came to his attention he had to make an effort to change himself and try to overcome the stereotype. It reinforces a theme throughout the first three chapters that when the stereotype is not know or present there is little effect on people, but as soon as it is out in the open it begins to affect people
Each character in the novel has their own interpretation of the ‘American Dream – the pursuit of happiness’ as they all lack happiness due to the careless nature of American society during the Jazz Age. The American Dreams seems almost non-existent to those whom haven’t already achieved it.
In this narrative essay, Brent Staples provides a personal account of his experiences as a black man in modern society. “Black Men and Public Space” acts as a journey for the readers to follow as Staples discovers the many societal biases against him, simply because of his skin color. The essay begins when Staples was twenty-two years old, walking the streets of Chicago late in the evening, and a woman responds to his presence with fear. Being a larger black man, he learned that he would be stereotyped by others around him as a “mugger, rapist, or worse” (135).
Staples says, “And on late-evening constitutionals along streets less traveled by, I employ what has proved to be an excellent tension-reducing measure: I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers” (Staples). Staples continues to say, “Virtually everybody seems to sense that a mugger wouldn’t be warbling bright, sunny selections from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons” (Staples). Staples choses to alter his image in order to prepare for the racism that he may
“Just Walk On By” started out as Staples’ sad life story, but turned into the story of a man who eventually came to terms with the difficulties he would deal with in his life, and he faced them with a positive attitude. “Complexion,” unfortunately, ended with Rodriguez feeling self-defeated and believing he would never find a resolution to his problem. He did not want to ignore the issue of his skin color, but let it slowly take over his life. Seeing them side-by-side, these essays start out with the same problem, but eventually go in completely different directions near the end. Staples and Rodriguez dealt with the racism and social judgment on the inside and both had radically different resolutions.
Staples uses persuasion to paint a vivid depiction of the frightening misconducts of being a black man in the seventies. However, I think Staples gets caught up in the thought of stereotypes. Staples fails to recognize that most of the reactions given to him are merely due to pedestrians being in strange circumstances. Individuals exabit fear when placed in unusual situations. Notably, as humans, we cannot see the minutest of details under poor lighting. It is for this reason that we cannot predict the outcome of night time situation. This fear of the unknown hinders our rational thinking abilities. When Staples uses the words “my first victim”, he is talking more about himself being the victim compared to the woman he just scared away (Staples). Conversely, I don’t believe the woman ran from Staples because he was African American. On that night, Staples was perceived as a shady character because he went into the avenue swiftly with his hands shoved into his bulky military jacket. The woman
In the short story, “The Street,” Richard Wright uses multiple methods of characterization (such as dialogue, actions and thoughts/ feelings) to convey the idea that standing up for oneself or facing challenges is essential to one’s personal growth. At this point in the story, a young boy from a poor family is asked to go to the corner store to get food. Then, a group of older boys surround him, steal his money and force the protagonist to run away crying from the scene. Once the boy tells his mother, “But I’m scared… They’ll beat me; they’ll beat me.” This is significant to the initial characterization of the main character because in the beginning, he is scared to go back to the store because of the bullies who have their eyes on them and
A lack of hope in one’s life leads to fear, without a positive outlook on his life; Brooks found himself becoming increasingly afraid of the future and his impending release from Shawshank. That insurmountable
A tall man in a long black coat is seen walking past the window of an elementary school with a large brief case. That sentence is enough to make almost any American’s skin crawl for a moment. Change the word man to woman, and all of those uncomfortable feelings change to normal and nothing out of the ordinary. How can this be? Everyone has experienced that unpleasant sensation of fear creeping into their bodies at least one time in their life. Maybe it was watching a horror movie or walking through an unfamiliar part of town at night, but this sensation is unlike any other feeling that humans can produce. It can become the most important survival instinct that a person can rely on. Although, in our day and age, as Dr. Karl Albrecht states, "Fear seems to have gotten a bad rap amongst most human beings." Fear is certainly not the most popular feeling and emotion that occurs in humans. People today view fear as a nuisance, and it tends to be regarded as a quality of the weak and helpless. With the education of knowing that fear is essential, people would discover that fear can quickly become any human’s most valuable resource. An analysis of fear, and recognizing its importance, confirms why fear is still needed in humans for survival today.