What is Your New York? The representation of New York City is different for everyone. Despite sharing the same city, no two people will experience it the same way. This is proven in the texts of The Colossus of New York, “Goodbye to All That,” and “Here is New York,” by Colson Whitehead, Joan Didion, and E. B. White respectfully. While all three authors have their own point of views about New York, they do manage to use some similar elements to express their knowledge of city while still having differences. All three authors use imagery to create a mental picture of what is being read. However, Whitehead uses satire, Didion uses the literary device of hyperbole, and White uses cacophonous words, to write about New York in a way that is …show more content…
She explains that although her first impression of New York was positive, it did not take long for that to change. Didion’s use of imagery allowed her to change the piece of literature from an upbeat to a depressing mood. She does so by at first writing about how she was “in love with New York” (Didion 228), but then as her story progresses she wrote about how she “hurt the people she cared about, and insulted those she did not” (Didion 237) which meant that she isolated herself from everyone else. However, New York was still unbearable to her when she locked herself in her apartment. What she discovered about New York is that the only people that will truly feel like they belong are young people. Didion explained that as she became older, everything that seemed fun to her about New York turned into a dreadful aspect of the city. Another literary device that Didion uses to portray her story of New York is the use of hyperbole. By using various examples of hyperbolic statements throughout her writing, she exaggerates enough to show the reader how she truly feels about living in New York. During her first few years living in the city, she describes New York to be an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishable dream itself” (Didion 231). What she means by this is that New York is such a spectacular city, where it seems that everything that one
82). The third quote is one of her notes that put the reader inside of her mind and gives proof to the fact that Didion lets her imagination take over her sense of reality. The fourth quote was another example of her starting off realistically and then she added some detail and she was off in her own world, again putting the reader in her mind. Depending on the type of detail she used made her notes realistic or imaginary.
* Pride in one’s local area (para 5): “tremendous monuments we find all over New York,”contrasted with “[i]f he lives in one of those housing projects of which everyone in New York is so proud”; his appeal to pathos is sardonic in tone
The settings occur very beautiful and the atmosphere is described as romantic and idyllic. King first illustrates New York as a lovely and safe place with open and bright streets with joyful people.
This view and interest of the city, this time at the fair, ends. The ending is not a definite point in time, but instead a gradual distaste for the details. Like the same child at the same fair, at the same time, every year, Didion outgrows the city and is no longer intrigued. She states, "I stopped believing in new faces" (p.687) and realizes, "It is distinctively possible to stay too long at the Fair" (p.687). She cannot stand the identical conversations at Grand Central, the stuck up women on Madison Ave., Times Square, or the New York Public Library. Eventually, Didion avoids these places. Like a boy who has outgrown the annual fair, she promises to return after a six-month leave of absence.
Upon reading the first few sentences of the paragraph, one can easily assume E. B. White has inhabited New York once before. His capability in drawing three New Yorks established his familiarity with the city and its various versions. This is implied when he states, “There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts for its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something” (White). Coming from the perspective of the author, it adds an authentic value to his words and description of the types of people who live in New York. The individuals who exist in each of the version contribute to New York’s remarkable essence
“The New Colossus” is a poem written by Emma Lazarus that is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty. This is the poem that we as Americans use as words of inspiration. From October 28, 1886, the date of when the Statue of Liberty was built and dedicated, to the year 2017, we have used the poem’s words to live by. While some people think that it is time for a change, others say that we should leave the poem to stay, for it is a historical remembrance of everything that we have stood up for. This poem also represents the welcoming of immigrants, the freedom that we fought for, and the freedom of religion.
As for New York City, in the novel it is defined as the perfect place to live life to the fullest and not have a care of the world. As a reader, it is expected to envision this city full of lights as a bright, restless, and colorful place. Nick Carraway depicts New York City as a “...city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money. The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of
While the city had its positive attributes, sometimes the young people get wrapped up in the negative aspects of the city. George also realizes that New York is a place where people, especially young people, restrict themselves.
New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to
At the moment of its waking Sacramento lost…its character…” (Didion 173). In other words, Didion is pointing out how Sacramento is becoming more immoral as urbanization and industrialization occur. However, what is most interesting is how Didion expresses Sacramento’s loss of character through her own experiences. For instance, Didion describes her wonderful memories basking in the Californian sun, rivers, fields and valleys as a child, showcasing the real natural Sacramento. However, later on as a n adult when she returns to Sacramento, Didion finds that the Sacramento she has been seeking is no longer there, as a result of industrial development:
In the late winter of 2004, Didion agrees to cover the following summer’s Democratic and Republican conventions for the New York Review of Books, believing it will help get her back to a normal life. Soon after Quintana is discharged from Rusk, Didion attends the Democratic Convention in Boston. Since she has few family memories associated with the city, she believes she’ll be able to avoid falling prey to the vortex
While explaining his new daily routine, he expressed his views on the city, “I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the contrast flicker of men and women and machines give to the restless eye” (56). When he says this, his tone is a tinge of sadness but mostly acceptance. It doesn’t seem to affect or bother him that he feels solitary in a big city. He admits that he feels lonely, but he also believes other people in New York feel lonely as well. Showing that even though a big city can be exciting and filled with opportunities, it’s not always as grand as people make it
“It got to be easy to look at New Yorkers as animals, especially looking down from some place like a balcony at Grand Central at the rush hour Friday afternoon.” (Tom Wolfe). “O Rotten Gotham” argues that New Yorkers are in a state of behavioral sink. It would not be long before a “population collapse” or a “massive die off”.
Why do people wish to leave New York so badly? Leaving New York is full of sad goodbyes and lasting memories. It might be a forceful pulling away if someone does not want to go. The authors seem to be attempting to escape the insanity. They all have a different take on what it means to leave New York and their personal viewpoints on why they left. Whether it was for sanity, love, less hardship, or more money. Between Fitzgerald in My Lost City, Didion in Goodbye to All That, Ptacin and Strayed in Why Writers Love New York and (Then Leave It) each had the same idea which is that leaving New York is the best thing they ever did regardless of what there is to offer they found more. The city shatters one’s illusions one by one the illusions one has of the city will eventually be destroyed.
The sounds of the city penetrated the walls of the cab as we drove through the streets of Manhattan. I could hardly wait to partake in the action that was happening outside. The buildings themselves were an amazing site to behold. The buildings took on personalities of their own. Each building was bigger and more graceful than the next. When lights were added to the mix it was a dazzling combination. The city itself felt like a great big hug, and I felt overwhelmed by its power. The city allowed me to become part of it just like many others many years ago who immigrated to this awesome city. As I was looking out of the cab I finally got to see in person the sight of all sights; Times Square. The main juncture of