The genre of Black Men in Public Space, by Brent Staples, is personal nonfiction. This is because Staples is reflecting on events that have happened during his life, particularly while walking at nighttime about cities where he lived. In the case of this work, the author and the speaker are the same person. There is a sad tone, yet surprisingly there is no anger in it. Staples seems to just take people's prejudiced stereotypes of him as the norm, even though he admits they are unfair. When opening with the example of the first time someone judged him as they were walking on the street at night, Staples even calls her his "first victim." He does this to bring to light that when people see him at night on the streets, they wrongly assume that he will make victims out of them.
Staples uses emotional diction, especially when referencing the mindset that men he grew up with had about being thugs. He includes a metaphor about driving on the highway and that thugs are not supposed to give up any space in their lane, but to take what little space others have. This is a use of imagery to explain the way that thugs see other people and how they are trained to behave. He also uses imagery when detailing his encounters with people on the streets. He describes the posture of people that show their fear when they walk by him. By using this imagery, Staples is giving depth to the situations that he encounters. This contrasts with background information on the author in the previous paragraphs that lead the audience to believe that he is a nice person.
Works Cited:
Staples, Brent. "Black Men in Public Space." Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Staples uses emotional diction, especially when referencing the mindset that men he grew up with had about being thugs. He includes a metaphor about driving on the highway and that thugs are not supposed to give up any space in their lane, but to take what little space others have. This is a use of imagery to explain the way that thugs see other people and how they are trained to behave. He also uses imagery when detailing his encounters with people on the streets. He describes the posture of people that show their fear when they walk by him. By using this imagery, Staples is giving depth to the situations that he encounters. This contrasts with background information on the author in the previous paragraphs that lead the audience to believe that he is a nice person.
Works Cited:
Staples, Brent. "Black Men in Public Space." Web. 12 Oct. 2015.