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Tom Wolfe’s: O Rotten Gotham
“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 article, Wolfe made his opinion clear. He believes everything New Yorkers go through is unhealthy and inhumane. Humans were compared to rats using the overcrowding, the ways of life, and the filth as examples. From the adrenaline rushes and car horns to helicopter noises and constant overcrowding, New York City is a constant stress causing environment.
Dr. Hall, another author presented in the article, saw this overcrowding in the city causing a lot of problems. He states that work takes place in massively congested areas such as small cubicles in offices. This, however, is not just a problem in New York City. All across the US people are confined to a cubicle for their work space. It is not the end of the world either. You are there a certain amount of hours a day, and when workers come home they can relax and spread out. New York City homes are not the most spacious, but they are not as bad as being in a cubicle.
Wolfe really makes you look at the differences your environment can make and how it affects its citizens. One with no knowledge of city life would probably be disgusted of it after reading this article. If they were looking to move to New York City, they would most probably think it through again. Who would want to live in filth with animals? What Wolfe doesn’t mention in his article are all of the good things about New York City....
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...ace to place to fit the needs of the area. When you listen to Wolfe, you get one side of the story. Without knowing the other side anyone would agree with him and his opinions. Thirty years ago the city was on its way to a massive behavioral sink, but has been cleaning up its act. The streets, subway systems, workplaces, and attractions have all cleaned up and done there part. More and more people are living in the city. Wolfe believes that this city is on its way to the sink, but the city is proving him wrong.
SOURCES:
Anderson, Chris and Runciman, Lex. A Forest of Voices: O Rotten Gotham.
Peter. www.citynoise.org/index.php?article=610
O’Sullivan, David. Morehead State University student from Yonkers New York.
Crime Rates and New York City. http://www.policetalk.com/nyc_crime_rate.html
NYC Subway Systems. http://www.ny.com/transportation/subways/
of the city as we read, but Whitehead’s ultimate goal is to depict the effect that a
Both show the idea that even though the people that come to New York have many bad
Following the unlawful burial of Polynices, Antigone openly admits to Creon the knowledge of the following punishment by carrying out such a defying act. "I knew it naturally, It was plain enough." Antigone pg.138. With the intention of gratifying the laws of the gods, Antigone holds neither guilt nor regret as she feels that she has brought justice to the eternal rest of her brother.
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Every culture left a mark of its quality on New York’s buildings that change over time: some are old, some are new, some are tall, and some are small. They might have a lot in common, but not one building is like the other. Diversity is what makes New York.
Gentrification is the keystone for the progression of the basic standards of living in urban environments. A prerequisite for the advancement of urban areas is an improvement of housing, dining, and general social services. One of the most revered and illustrious examples of gentrification in an urban setting is New York City. New York City’s gentrification projects are seen as a model for gentrification for not only America, but also the rest of the world. Gentrification in an urban setting is much more complex and has deeper ramifications than seen at face value. With changes in housing, modifications to the quality of life in the surrounding area must be considered as well. Constant lifestyle changes in a community can push out life-time
Throughout history, the actions of governments have always been debated; however, occasionally there are certain events which spark much controversy, both at the time of the event and by historians today. One of these controversial acts was the invocation of the War Measures Act in 1970, an act which suspended the civil liberties of Canadian citizens. In October 1970, in what became known as the October Crisis, the Front de libération du Québec, (commonly known as the FLQ) which was a French Canadian organization advocating independence from Canada, kidnapped two politicians. This initiated a series of events, one of which was the invocation of the War Measures Act by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. Many historians argue that Trudeau was justified in invoking the War Measures Act because the October Crisis ended shortly after the Act was invoked. However, this argument is invalid as justification; primarily because the War Measures Act was an extreme overreaction by Trudeau, as the threat of the FLQ was largely small-scale, and the demise of the FLQ was impending with the rise of the Bloc Quebecois. Furthermore, the Act may have inspired Quebecers who favoured separatism, as they saw the government desperately employ the most extreme measure to stop the FLQ. Finally, the War Measures Act suspended the civil rights of citizens within a democracy, violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In the reading “O Rotten Gotham” it talks about behavioral sink and how New York had been thrown into state of behavioral sink. It was interesting how this author took the behavior of rats and compared it to humans. After reading what he wrote it sort of reminded me of the lifestyles that some New Yorkers live with in the projects. While reading this story it made me think about my parents and what they have said about living in New York and in the projects. Here are some opinions about behavioral sink and taken from two people that have lived in the projects in New York
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
Many researchers have theorized why the wealthy desire to move back into the city. Schwirian believes that many wealthy people are drawn to the architectural design of some of these old houses in urban areas (Schwirian 96). Harvey believes in a number of theories, and ...
Antigone’s firm belief that her brother Polyneices should have a proper burial is established by her conviction in that the law of the gods is above all else. This law proclaims that all men be mourned and honored by family and friends through means of a suitable burial. Antigone’s need to put honor upon Polyneices’ soul is so grand that she ignores the advice of everyone around her, including her sister Ismene, who tries to pull her away from performing this criminal act because it will disobey the law set by King Creon, and lead to her demise. However, Antigone does not care about the repercussions because even though “[s...
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