Night Walker Response Answers

1.       Why do you think Staples refers to the woman he encounters in the beginning of his essay as a “victim”?

I think he was being humorous by referring her to a victim because she judged him as a person who was going to hurt her.  I think he was saying how she viewed herself as a victim when he never had any intention of harming her.

2.       What, exactly, is his “unwieldy inheritance” mentioned in the second paragraph?

Staples’ unwieldy inheritance is the judgment of his appearance by other people.  He cannot control the fact that people thought he was a dangerous person when he had no intention of hurting anyone.  He inherited this through his race, which is usually known as not-so-nice people wandering the streets late at night.  He did take some precautions towards the ending of his essay which helped his impression among other people.

3.       What, exactly, is “the language of fear” (paragraph three)?  What examples does Staples give to illustrate this “language”?

The language of fear is the actions certain people took that let him know he was viewed as a threat to their wellbeing.  Some examples include as he walked down the street he would hear people locking their car doors, crossing the street instead of walking past him, and various instances with police, doormen, bouncers, cab drivers, and others whose job it was to keep people out of harm’s way.

4.       This piece is sometimes printed under the titles “Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space” or “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space”;  how do these very different titles affect your understanding of Staples’ reason for writing? How would your perception of his purpose for writing this essay change, if given these different titles?

The two titles listed above give more of a foreshadowing aspect to the overall moral of the story.  The reader will be more informed about what the essay will be which allows their imagination to wonder just before reading the excerpt.  I think these two titles are more effective than “Night Walker” because they allow the reader to understand the plot of the story.

5.       Why do you think whistling selections from Beethoven and Vivaldi seem to make people less afraid of the author?

I agree with what Staples’ said towards the ending of the essay by mentioning it is a calming rhythm, and most people don’t expect murders to be humming such high-class popular classical tunes.