Brent Staples, Just Walk On By: Black Men and Public Space

What is the purpose of the opening paragraph?

• a. to state the thesis of the essay

• b. to shock the reader by disclosing the writer's guilt

• c. to provide an example that will frame the essay

• d. to evoke an emotional response from the reader

• e. to mock the response of the woman being described

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

Paragraph 2 contains all of the following Except

• a. vivid description

• b. an abstract statement

• c. figurative language

• d. parallel syntax

• e. understatement

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

What is the primary rhetorical function of the sentence "I understand, of course, that the danger they perceive is not a hallucination" (par. 5)?

• a. to provide an example that is the exception to the rule

• b. to acknowledge a counterargument

• c. to present a misconception that Staples will correct

• d. to concede that Staples might be mistaken

• e. to introduce another of Staple's personal experiences

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.6

What is the purpose of paragraph 10?

• a. to broaden Staple's point beyond personal experience

• b. to demonstrate that Staples is more fortunate than most other black men

• c. to suggest a solution to the problem Staples raised in previous paragraphs

• d. to introduce a new issue that complicates Stple's argument

• e. to signal that Staples is ready to draw his conclusion

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

All of the following are examples of irony Except

• a. "menacingly" (par. 1)

• b. "unwieldy inheritance" (par. 2)

• c. "as though bracing themselves against being tackled" (par. 5)

• d. "lethality nighttime pedestrians attributed to me" (par. 6)

• e. "smother the rage" (par. 11)

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

The last sentence of the essay is an example of

I. irony

II. paradox

III. analogy

• a. I only

• b. II only

• c. III only

• d. I and II only

• e. I, II, and III

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.5A

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

Staples cites the example of "melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers" (par. 12) to do which of the following?

• a. demonstrate his impressive knowledge of classical music

• b. defy the stereotypes of what black men are assumed to know

• c. include black composers who understand the indignities he has experienced

• d. allude to music with which his audience is likely to be familiar

• e. describe music that is known to have a calming effect

Tags

CCSS.RI. 9-10.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

The speaker's attitude toward the experiences he relates is a combination of

• a. contempt, cynicism, and fear

• b. confusion, concern, and bitterness

• c. anger, irony, and reason

• d. detachment, disdain, and reproach

• e. remorse, anxiety, and sympathy

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4