Just Walk On By

What is the purpose of Staples' opening paragraph?

• To state the thesis of the essay

• To shock the reader by disclosing the writer's guilt

• to evoke an emotional response from the reader

• to mock the response of the woman being described

Answer explanation

The emotional response is shock and fear; he wants the audience to first feel the fear of the 'victim,' but then consider how that fear is created and perpetuated by societal stereotypes.

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

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

• to acknowledge a counterargument

• to present a misconception that Staples will correct

• to introduce another of Staples' personal experiences

Answer explanation

Staples understands that stereotypes and prejudice may exist for a reason, but that doesn't mean those judgments are true 100% of the time (or are very helpful).

What is the purpose of paragraph 10? ( It begins "Relatively speaking, however, I never fared as badly as another black male journalist.")

• to broaden Staples' point beyond personal experience

• To suggest a solution to the problem

• to introduce a new issue that complicates Staples' argument

• to signal that Staples is ready to draw his conclusion

Answer explanation

This is a good strategy for your own writing! Start with a personal example, but make sure to broaden your argument to other shared experiences, current events, etc.

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

• demonstrate his impressive knowledge of classical music

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

• include black composers who understand the indignities he has experienced

• describe music that is known to have a calming effect

Answer explanation

Not A. Although, yes, he is name-dropping these well-known classical composers, it contributes to what he is really doing in answer B.

Not C. These--and most known-- classical composers were white males. (I wonder why??)

Not D. Although yes, this music has a calming effect, that is not the primary reason he mentions it.

Read the final sentence of Staples' essay: "It is my equivalent of the cowbell that hikers wear when they know they are in

bear country." It uses all of the following EXCEPT:

• IRONY (when words mean the opposite or situations defy expectations)

• SIMILE (comparing two things using 'like' or 'as')

• PARADOX (two opposing ideas that confoundingly exist together)

• ANALOGY (comparing two things to illustrate how something works)

Answer explanation

The irony is that HE has to warn off others, when THEY see him as a threat. The paradox exists there, too; how can the menacing 'black man' be both the victim and the perpetrator? The analogy is comparing the cowbell to whistling tunes from classical composers, meant to scare off the 'bears' of would-be racists.

Read the following sentence from Staples' essay: "At dark, shadowy intersections, I could cross in front of a car stopped at a traffic light and elicit the THUNK, THUNK, THUNK of the driver – black, white, male, or female – hammering down the door locks." This quote uses all of the following EXCEPT:

• onomatopoeia

• visual imagery

• audio imagery

• personification

• violent-sounding diction

Answer explanation

--Onomatopoeia: "thunk, thunk, thunk"

--Visual imagery: "dark, shadowy intersections"

--Audio imagery: "the THUNK [..] of the driver hammering down the door locks"

--Violent-sounding diction: "HAMMERING down" sounds violent, doesn't it?

The absent device is "Personification" (no, the car is not locking itself).

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

• anxiety and contempt

• remorse and bitterness

• frustration and ironic reasoning

• detachment and disdain

Staples' text relies primarily on what rhetorical mode?

(Think of his entire argument: "And I soon gathered that being perceived as dangerous is a hazard in itself. I only needed to turn a corner into a dicey situation, or crowd some frightened, armed person in a foyer somewhere, or make an errant move after being pulled over by a policeman. Where fear and weapons meet – and they often do in urban America – there is always the possibility of death.")

• Description

• Process Analysis

• Cause and Effect

• Classification and Division

Answer explanation

The cause= Staples being falsely perceived as a threat on the basis of his skin color.

The (ironic) effect= He is endangered by the individuals who might overreact and attack him to protect themselves.