Essay on Tom Wolfe’s: O Rotten Gotham

New York City is one of the world's most known cities, it is known as the melting pot. New York City has a blend of cultures all in one city. From the statue of liberty, malls and sky scrapers to the parks and restaurants, there’s always something to do or see. But like any other city, crime does exist. With that being said people are starting to feel unsafe. Citizens are moving from the place they once called home. Most believe that there's life in a civil society where kids can grow safely, nourish and thrive off the environment.

In its long and illustrious history, New York City (NYC) has gone through tremendous change. From a small trading post on the tip of Manhattan Island, to the greatest metropolis in the world, NYC has continued to evolve over time. One period in particular that had more degrees of change than many others, was 1860 to 1865. The lives of the residents of the great port city would be completely changed forever.

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

The United States of America is characterized in many different ways. Some people may say it is a land of opportunity and success, while others would argue that it is a place of regret. In The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, the United States is described as a mixture of good and evil. Larson accomplishes this reflection of America by telling a story which follows two different men with opposing motives. The first is Burnham, the architect in charge of building the World’s Fair. He is determined to make America a prideful nation. However, Holmes, the serial killer, has despicable reasons for wanting the fair. These two characters help show who America is and what it stands for. In his book, Erik Larson indicates that the United States is comprised of both good and evil by displaying the motives, conflicts, and resourcefulness of its people.

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

Many people don’t realize it, but without Jacob Riis, our city would still be the way as I previously described. New York would be known, not for it’s beautiful city lights, busy streets, and other attractions but for the nasty environment that envelops it. Thankfully, this is not the case and change in our society has occurred. Jacob Riis is a photographer, news reporter, and author. By using his skills, Riis crafted books and newspaper articles, completed with pictures to inform the public about the terrible conditions immigrants and city dwellers suffered in.

Traveling between the Bronx and Manhattan has allowed me to see that even though they are so close in distance, everyone is yet so far. Being raised in the Bronx has allowed me to gain a sense of home and recognition, but also how stereotypes are meant to deceive us. The Bronx is labeled as a dangerous place, where violence occurs, but people neglect the beauty and happiness that surrounds it too. Meanwhile, when people think of Manhattan, they see it as the heart of New York where everyone is living their dreams. When in reality, the “heart” of New York is much more distant from itself, and that is not just because it is on an island.

E.B. White, in the essay “Here is New York” (1948) implies that there are three different perspectives of New York, including that of the natural born New Yorker, that of the New York commuter, and

The historically accurate novel, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, presents us a twisted truth of the development of the United States. The novel takes place during The Chicago World’s Fair where architects are pressured to make a grand tower that would, ‘out-Eiffel Eiffel’. This put people like Burnam, Root and Olmstead in insane amounts of pressure. These architects had to cut some corners while making their towers. Workers were overworked, and they were payed unreasonably.

New York City has been in a constant state of change since the 1970’s. Evolving from a state of art and decrepitness to a glistening city of consumption. Yet in Jeremiah Moss’ book, Vanishing New York, the city did not “evolve” for the locals who breathed and lived in the city– the ones who made New York City the place to be, but rather for the big businesses who lure in the tourists who change the city into some kind of sister city to their middle American hometown. Moss uses the same ideas bell hooks wrote about in her “Eating the Other” essay, in that New Yorkers, the “other”, in all their artsy, queer, and ethnic ways are used to “spice up” the city, to make it a place worth coveting so that the rich and elite can sell a watered down/hollow

“Critics often charge that gentrification constitutes a white “invasion” of poor black and Hispanic neighborhoods” (Levine, 2015). Re-developed neighborhoods often lose significant numbers in the African American population while gaining an overwhelming increase of white residents. In New York, the portion of

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

Life in the suburbs is pretty dull, but every day in Brooklyn, and the entire city of New York, is an adventure. Just walking down the street and seeing all of the different people and sounds can be an adventure, especially to little kids. Most kids have to read picture books to see trucks, and ambulances, and taxis and trains and planes, but not in New York. A kid can just walk down the street and see all of them within a ten-minute

As a conclusion, we saw that urbanization and gentrification have paced numerous evolutions in New-York city that has changed, consequently, the lifestyle of its citizens. But also that in order to reduce consumption or for simply saved money, Americans are willing to change their habits.