Summary and Response to "Just Walk on By"

In order to avoid being persecuted for crimes he was innocent of committing, Staples describes his efforts to make himself appear less threatening. For example, he allows more space between himself and others on the streets and begins to whistle classical tunes while walking down the street. .
             In Staples" revised edition of "Just Walk on By" he begins by describing the setting where he walks and his physical appearance in detail. He mentions the same young lady that he calls his "first victim" (258) who ran from him out of fear and continues on to describe his understanding of the "language of fear" (258). Staples mentions how people avoid eye contact with him on the streets and compares it to an old wives tale about how rabid dogs will not bite a person who does not look the dog in the eyes. Staples describes his efforts to evade people and avoid conflict, but continues further to discuss a change in his personality that made him search for people on the streets that he could scare or startle with his appearance. He turned his ability to frighten people into a game that he called "Scatter the Pigeons" (259). Staples describes his methods of finding specific streets where he locates people to alarm and the ways in which he scares them. He ends his essay with a justification of this behavior by stating, "They"d made me terrifying. Now I"d show them how terrifying I could be" (260).
             The revised version of "Just Walk on By", by Brent Staples, differs significantly from the original text even though it contains many of the same components and basically tells the same story. In the revised version, Staples begins in a much more descriptive manner, taking more time to give a details about the area that he walks in and an in depth description of his appearance the evening he took his "first victim" (258). The original version is more distant from the reader and avoids thorough descriptions of how people's negative reactions towards Staples make him feel.