Coping With Strangers
The lights, the buildings, the noise, the people. The grass, the smell, the air, the people. Life in the city is predominately more dynamic, rushed, and maybe even stressing compared to life in rural areas. Here, you acknowledge strangers, and your neighbours aren’t just people living next doors – but friends and even family. This doesn’t always seem to be the case of urban living, as there seems to be an unwritten consensus of keeping your distance and respecting the privacy of other urbaners. But also, there are many more different types of people who unknowingly take part in your everyday life. With all these different aspects in the back of your mind, life in a big city can seem much more lonely, unpredictable, and
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Writing an essay is about engaging the reader through well-considered reflections and personal experiences in order to create a nuanced debate. Firstly, she explains how she used to live “in rural Minnesota [where] it was the custom to greet everyone you met on the road” (p. 1), and then in 1978, she moved to New York City. This shift from rural living to urbanity gives Andrea May ethos, as it is given that she knows what she talks about when reflecting upon the subject – this means that the reader is quickly drawn to the text and so, engaged in May’s thoughts. As the text unfolds, May talks about some of her own experiences in New York City, where she has adopted a law that “every New Yorker subscribes to (…): PRETEND THIS ISN’T HAPPENING” (p. 1). She exemplifies this general reflection and law that applies to every New Yorker with the mentioning of her Iranian friend who watched a woman on the bus only in her bathrobe exclaiming: “My token! My token! Oh my God, I must have left it in the other bathrobe!” (p. 1), thereafter she was waved onto the bus, and May’s Iranian friend found that he was the only one paying attention to this peculiar scene. May’s ability to relate general rules of urban living to own experiences is what drives her essay and engages her
He begins in Chestnut Hill, a high-income neighborhood in Philadelphia, at the city’s boundaries on Germantown Avenue. Anderson eloquently points out what most do not notice consciously, but are truly aware of as a matter of self-preservation. This self-preservation becomes more prioritized, or vice-versa, as a ...
The island of Manhattan was consolidated into the greater New York City in 1898. Because of this the city was transformed from a nineteenth century seaport with cobblestone streets into a twentieth century metropolis of skyscrapers and subways. The artists of the Ashcan movement saw this changing society in human terms. They saw this in a light which depicted the interaction of so many different cultures which were being thrust together. They documented these changes on a level which the ordinary person could understand. Because of the Ashcan School we have a picture of society which one really cannot understand amidst the overpowering spectacle of overpowering buildings and increasing technology.4
“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”.
Throughout The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs, she writes about the city’s change through a ballet dance and movement surrounding her. “In real life, to be sure, something is always going on, the ballet is never at a halt, but the general effect is peaceful and the general tenor even leisurely” (Jacobs 833). This idea of change she discusses and goes in great depth with, portrays just how constant not just a particular city but the world is. She describes every day to be a ballet of some sort; witnessing everyone’s day as they walk down the sidewalk. Even when a corner is turned, seeing so many different face as they all move at different paces and occupy their time in different manners, it all adds to this dance. Everything changing around her and maybe even things not really making sense but despite all of that, still being able to come together and create something no matter what’s being made of it, relates to Growing up Unrented on the Lower East Side by Edmund Berrigan.
In other words, this short makes use of pathos as its main artistic appeal to convey its message (Carroll 47, 52). Indeed, even though anyone interested in the consequences of urban regeneration and gentrification processes would not regret to spare 12 minutes of their time watching this short, the focal audience intended to be persuaded in a particular way seems to be the “white, upper class millennials” that gentrifies the district to whom Max enjoys yelling as seen in the supermarket scene (3:53; Kander n.a). This group, in the words of Shaw “young, urban people who are…sheltered from the real violence of gentrification on a daily basis” like herself and Lewis (Kander n.a.) is mainly invited to think twice about their steps in an ethical sense: the well-off profits and benefits made out of this district is depriving many people of their basic need of
city is like a cycle everyone has a part and does something that helps the city function. However
Colson Whitehead explores this grand and complex city in his collection of essays The Colossus of New York. Whitehead writes about essential elements to New York life. His essays depict the city limits and everyday moments such as the morning and the subway, where “it is hard to escape the suspicion that your train just left... and if you had acted differently everything would be better” (“Subway” 49). Other essays are about more once in a while moments such as going to Central Park or the Port Authority. These divisions are subjective to each person. Some people come to New York and “after the long ride and the tiny brutalities... they enter the Port Authority,” but for others the Port Authority is a stop in their daily commute (“The Port Authority” 22).Nonetheless, each moment is a part of everyone’s life at some point. Many people live these moments together, experiencing similar situations. We have all been in the middle of that “where ...
Colson Whitehead ponders the essence of New York in his collection of essays titled, The Colossus of New York. Throughout the entire collection of essaysWhitehead inquires about what New York stands for based on the journey’s of its inhabitants and visitors. By establishing a sense of authenticity and creating an intimate relationship between him and the reader, Whitehead effectively provides his readers with a genuine account of New York. This genuineness found in Whitehad’s writing has not been met without criticism. Wyatt Mason’s critique of Whitehead’s essays reiterates throughout the review that Whitehead’s account go New York isn’t unique to New York and that the essayist isn’t particularly attentive to detail. While I agree with the
Being a stranger in the village often means moving out of one’s comfort zone, and in to a completely new place; having to adapt and learn new things. I am a 17 year old female and have had to experience being the stranger in a new place many of times. Living with my grandparents my whole life also puts a stop to much of the traveling and such. Staying in the house all of the time was never good for me and being the stranger in a village has helped me get out of my comfort zone, and really learn new and different things, it also helped me decide who I am as a person, and what I truly believed in and what I am passionate about.
It’s a noisy city; it always has the urgency among drivers to get to their destinations as quickly as possible, or for people to keep to themselves as they transverse down the busy streets. From any newcomer, Gotham City would appear to be like any other metropolitan location. Only Gothamites would know of the dangers that lurk around every corner at the dead of night—only Gothamites would know the fear of living in such a seemingly normal-looking city. To some citizens, they’d love nothing more than to leave Gotham behind them, while others find some small hope left in their home city.
to visit your neighbor can be rewarding. On the flip side, city life breeds a more dangerous lifestyle and leaves no chance for getting to know your fellow townsfolk.
We meet strangers everywhere we go. They come from all walks of life. We can choose to ignore them or to talk to them. I have judged people based on the way they walk, talk, dress or the way they approached me. These judgments tend to stick with me even if I find out who they really are. I don 't think it is right to get judgmental when I first approach a person. I feel so bad when I find out who they really are isn 't who I thought they were. It just seems to happen so naturally. I guess it is just human nature. I can relate this to my senior high school days. Most of the judgments I made about people never helped me because it got me into bad company. In a short story ‘Strangers’, a stranger hurt and lied to Toni Morrison about who she was. She was really hurt by the stranger because she had misjudged her about who she was. She did not expect a woman, who looked so humble, would do such a thing. I can relate to her story because I also misjudged someone and ended up getting hurt.
Generally speaking, life in the city is more hectic and clamorous. While a vast majority of Americans pack themselves into our major cities, there are still millions who live outside of the cities. Certainly, there are a lot more activities in the city: shopping malls and restaurants galore, thrift stores, libraries, and concert...
On the other hand the neighborhood I live in now isn’t much of a neighborhood at all, it’s just a street that has multiple apartment buildings. I feel more as though my apartment complex is an entire neighborhood in itself than my street or my town actually is. There’s also upsides to a living so close to your neighbors such as you’re able to ask them for anything you might need and you’re able to get to know them on a more personal level. In my other neighborhood we also knew each other, but people didn’t seem to see each other as often or interact as much because everybody was so distant from each
The age-old question has plagued many, “Should I live in a city or should I live in the country?”. There are many advantages and disadvantages to choosing a lifestyle in either setting, and careful examination of all aspects is needed to make the perfect decision for you.