1)What is the PURPOSE of this essay? Do you think Staples believes that he (or other African American men) will cease “to alter public space in ugly ways” (par

1)What is the PURPOSE of this essay? Do you think Staples believes that he (or other African American men) will cease “to alter public space in ugly ways” (par. 2) in the near future? Does he suggest any long-term solution for “the kind of alienation that comes of being ever the suspect” ?

2. In paragraph 5 Staples says he understands that the danger women fear when they see him “is not a hallucination.” Do you take this to mean that Staples perceives himself to be dangerous? Explain.

3. Staples says, “I chose, perhaps unconsciously, to remain a shadow — timid, but a survivor” (par. 7). What are the usual CONNOTATIONS of the word survivor? Is “timid” one of them? How can you explain this apparent discrepancy?