Nofel Malik

Questions over Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space
1. How does Staples describe himself? How is he sometimes seen by others?
Staples is described as a soft man who wouldnt hurt anyone, however, Staples is seen as
something else on his night walks. Others seeing him at night depict him as a dangerous
man simply because of his skin color. This causes others to keep their distance and refrain
from him.
2. Staples begins his essay by discussing the effect of his presence on another person.
However, others reactions to his presence affect him in return, and he spends much of the
essay explaining the emotional and practical effects he experiences as a consequence of
his interactions. How is the complication and paradox of these situations expressed by the
last sentence about Stapless whistling classical music being the equivalent of the
cowbell that hikers wear when they are in bear country (par. 12)?
The analogy used by Staples can be expressed synonymously by the situation that Staples
is in. A cowbell is used by hikers to keep bears away from them in the wilderness. In this
case, Staples is the cowbell and the whites or others seeing him are the bears. This can
also be perceived in a way in which the cowbell makes noise and grabs animals attention.
Similarly, Staples grabs attention of those seeing him and alarms them like the cowbell.
3. The person with whom you find yourself identifying in a story sometimes depends on
your own identity. With whom did you identify at the start of Stapless essay, and how did
it affect your reading of the full piece?
I would most likely identify and relate myself to the first victim for the reason
that I have personal experiences of being scared of someone at night and if
Im walking at night I walk with a keen and open eye aware of my
surroundings. However, I would not be afraid of someone just because of
their skin color. I also could relate myself to Staples since he is against the
racial profiling and judgmental society.