Just walk on by, tends to explain how black and big-bodied men are perceived by the society. The people of Chicago, especially women have a negative perception towards big- bodied black men. They relate such kinds of people with societal evils. In the second paragraph, Brent says, it was clear she thought herself the quarry of a mugger, rapist or worse. It is also evident that women tend to avoid such kinds of men. Brent states that, after a few more quick glimpses, she picked her pace and was soon running in earnest. Brent also talks of several unfriendly encounters that befell him and a certain journalist due to their masculinity. In one instance, he is mistaken for a burglar and in another, a dog is almost used to attack him.
Generally, huge and masculine people are perceived to be unfriendly. Most people with big bodies tend to apply the use of force in getting things done. These people are considered to be bullies and manipulative in schools. A big percentage of people always on the wrong side of the law are big bodied since they often take law into their own hands. When confronted with such people, we tend to act offensive because we have negative expectations from them. For instance, if a crime occurs in a certain area, the main people suspected by the police are physically big. I recently witnessed a big guy in a hood being arrested mistakenly thinking he had taken part in a supermarket robbery since he was walking by. However, it is not fair to assume that all physically masculine people are indiscipline.
The first passage on the last paragraph says that Brent had to implement tension reducing measures by whistling Beethovens and Vivaldis classicals. This passage is significant because he had to look for ways of fitting in the society. This is a good strategy to use since many people seem to be tensed around him. It relates to the rest of the story because it explains how Brent came to overcome the stigmatization.
Questions arising include, why did he have to walk late at night? Why does he think he has to relieve the tension? What creates the tension in the first place? Was it only his big body that led to the unpleasant reactions from people? Or did his form of dressing contribute?