A Summary Of La Ville Lumiere

“Beneath the gore and smoke and loam, this book is about the evanescence of life, and why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow. In the end it is a story of the ineluctable conflict between good and evil, daylight and darkness, the White City and the Black.” (xi) This shows the contrast between the White City and the Black City. One, perfect, beautiful, magical, the other dark, filthy, evil. The two work together yet against each other in the battle to win over the hearts of the people who visit, and those who decide to stay

In late 19th century Paris, cafés-concerts (best described as “glorified beer halls” (Clark 206)) were a very popular destination for the people of Paris. Cafés-concerts became an integral part of Parisian social life, as they were visited by hundreds of people each night, regardless of class. A bar at the Folies Bergère became the topic of Edouard Manet’s last painting, as Manet tried to portray the new, “modern” Paris, and the introduction of mass production during this time. A Marxist art historian, T.J. Clark finds this particular painting important because it revealed a lot about the new, modern Paris, and Manet’s intentions with the painting. Clark focuses more on the emergence of the new social class during this time, and how this affected the role of women in Paris. The painting, A bar at Folies Bergère, has historical significance because of how it depicts modernity in the context of the emergence of a new social class (the petite bourgeoisie), the introduction of mass production, and the changing role of women.

In order to fully understand a city or its history, you must also try to understand the people living within it. The Journal of Hélène Berr and the film “Free Men” provide insight for this and have some very strong shared themes. One very important theme of both the journal and the movie is perseverance. Both the journal and the film are set in German-occupied Paris during World War II. They provide insight into the way people of specific religions and backgrounds lived and thought during a dark time in Paris’s history. Many people, including those who were not from France, expressed their loyalty to the city of Paris and their unwillingness to step down through their thoughts and actions. Through this theme in both the journal and the film, one can better understand the mindset and the way of thinking of certain groups of Parisians in occupied Paris.

The lights of the town were veiled in darkness, a mere inverted shadow amidst the gloom of the night. Distant thunderings, as those brought to mind with Dies Irae or the distant chattering of a great blaze could be heard, drawing nigh upon the trembling hands of the people frantically seeking a shade for the lights that would soon propagate should their brilliance stretch to the skies, but found difficulty locating even their hands at arm’s length, due to the cloud over the town, in the streets, as real and thick as the blanket of golden and crimson extending toward the town at a propeller’s rate, silencing the natural beauty of the countryside amid the sounds of death and destruction.

During the nineteenth century, Paris further developed into the entertainment capital of the world. Alistair Horne, the author of the Seven Ages of Paris, vividly illustrates several historical moments that occurred in Paris. Through the horrors and triumphs, Paris was able to endure through it all for ages and still emerge greater than before. In comparison, Vanessa R. Schwartz, the author of Spectacular Realities: Early Mass Culture in Fin-de-siècle, demonstrates how the explosive popularity of the boulevard, the newspapers, wax museums, panoramas, and early cinema led to the creation of a new culture in Paris. Driven by consumerism, a cultural revolution was happening, who’s new culture transcended gender and class divisions. Both authors

Large communal spaces such as the Palais Royal, where hundreds of men and women gathered on a daily basis, fostered a rapid exchange of information (Source 2, 116). The vast expanse of the palace grounds and the teeming pace of city relations added a degree of anonymity to Parisians wishing to meet for the latest news; significantly, the police also lacked jurisdiction within the palace’s walls, so individuals spoke freely regarding their feelings about the monarchy. Additionally, Paris’s warren of alleys combined with the close proximity of shops and employee living quarters facilitated effective crowd mobilization (Source 3, 117; Source 4, 117). Parisians rapidly communicated both concrete news and frenzied rumors through the informal networks of residential interactions; anger and fear proliferated in response to ominous tidings of military coups and a dearth of

He found a place that was big, bright, and colorful in a way that is unattractive; comparison was to that of a “circus.” The city is filled with motorcycles that are in his words the home of a “Motorcycle Revolution, a 350-cc Beijing.” The whole city, including entire families, in all manner of dress, and in all age groups were racing and roaring around the city streets, “the whole group of them enacting a kind of crazy,” The people appeared to be living fast and loose and with abandon. The whole scene could be compared to carnival atmosphere where everyone is living their new motto of “living fast.” Such actions are likely due to the fact that Saigon had lived under repression for many years, now the pendulum has swung in the other direction, and they live life now with a vengeance. In the evening, the feverish abandon increases and the atmosphere becomes even more strange and imaginary resembling a dream. In contrast to Hue and its quiet and dignified demeanor, Saigon is the opposite. In Saigon, there is a sense of never-ending action. The analogy of the author with its descriptive terms speaks volumes, “Somehow, in Saigon, it is always 9:30 at night in some flashy, shady dive, and a chanteuse in a sequined micro skirt is belting out…to the accompaniment of violins and cellos played by girls in shocking pink miniskirts.” (para.

The story surrounds two time periods: 1942 and 2002. All of the main story and action takes place in Paris. The two stories alternate throughout the book. By alternating both points of view, de Rosnay allows the reader to learn factual information and also go on an emotional journey. As the book progresses, the stories tie together until they become one.

But this time, it wasn’t anywhere familiar to me. We were going back to the United States, more specifically, Silicon Valley, California. Although, being born in Florida, all of my family and everything I knew was on the east coast. Here I was an 8-year-old with an American family and a British accent. The two didn’t quite line up or make sense to the other second graders and I struggled to make California a home. After a few years of moving around inside the United States, no surprise, we moved again. This time, it was somewhere familiar. Somewhere everyone dreamed of going. Paris. Although I was overwhelmed by the excitement of living in such a famous city, I, yet again, struggled within the first few months to make Paris my home. But this time, the problem wasn’t the culture – that, I understood – but it was the language. I decided the only way to learn to love my new life was to learn the language and treat it as my own. Making friends was no problem even with the language barrier considering I’d had to start my life from scratch a few times over. Within the first month, I made a lifelong best friend who happened to be the granddaughter of Gérard Depardieu. And to her, I owe all my thanks. We came to the agreement that I would teach her English if she taught me French. It was through Louise that I learned French slang, culture, the “cool” hangout spots

Laurent Cantet tried to make Entre les murs as true to the real situation in the “banlieues” (suburbs) of Paris through

LeGuin’s description of Omelas engages all of one’s senses through her usage of rich visual, auditory and tactile imagery to ‘prove’ to the reader that Omelas is undeniably a utopia. The city of Omelas can be described as a place in which the inhabitants’ senses are constantly overwhelmed by sensations which are pleasing to their eyes, beautiful to their ears and sweet to their tongues. The unchanging state of this society which is surrounded constantly by sensory delight can be found in these descriptions; for instance, the “child of nine or ten [who] sits at the edge of the crowd, alone, playing on a wooden flute […] he never ceases playing” (LeGuin 275). In addition to the wooden flute, LeGuin describes, “a shimmering of gong and tambourine” (LeGuin 273). Following the narrator’s stunning description of everything which makes Omelas a utopia, her statement that the reader may, if he pleases, “add an orgy” in order to make the Omelas less “goody-goody,” makes it apparent that Omelas in many ways does not have to be concrete and limited to the previously provided descriptions. Her aim is not to describe a particular city, although it is named and its characteristics are already expressed, but to present the idea of a perfect city, a utopia in which bliss is fixed, and good fortune is wholly

exhibition of his longing for the familiarity of Paris and the sanctity of his past, a

“Old Paris” was viewed as a collection of picturesque memories, cherished dwellings, close neighborhoods, and lively streets. The people inhabiting “Old Paris” included those in the banlieues

The injured, the weak, they have all bled, as the chemist prepares more aigremont, The Arc de Triomphe stands tall. Marianne, look to those behind you, the streets of Paris run red with blood. Be the last thing within their view, before they churn the streets to mud.

Have you ever seen Those moments trampled by the clock in the center of the city, Which has thousands of love stories Many love coated pale bodies, Are suffering from their being. Perhaps you have not seen