Daily Archives: September 18, 2013

City Limits

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In Colson Whitehead’s “City Limits”, New York City is described as an omnipresent idea that grows and molds into it a very unique experience with every single resident that lives or has ever lived there. In Colson’s own words, one starts “building their own city”, the minute they lay their eyes upon it. Each brick would be a day in life that went by. These days would turn into months and eventually you would have buildings, and within years a city. Just like buildings coexist with each other, there are many different “cities” living in New York City. One building could be about your summer  spent in Central Park; another could be about that public school from which you graduated from. All and all, all these building represent a unique experience in your life. Every aspect that you will encounter would have changed within a year or so. The city does not stay for everyone; it is always in motion, always changing and always welcoming new residents. While being very sarcastic, Colson also uses hyperbole and personification to give a sense  of character to the city and places you once lived in. Though they do not become actual characters, they have traits. He says it himself, “If his old apartments where he lived would talk”, they would gossip and ask questions about him. The city has seen you when you were alone. The city has always been there, always looking out for  you. Everyone develops a relationship with city; you become so involved with the life you grew up with that you are ruined for any other place.

Summary for “City Limits”

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The essay “City Limits” is written by an author Colson Whitehead. In this writing he uses a style that is very sarcastic and opinionated. He talks about how there are so many people living in New York but everyone has their own experience and view that co-inside. His personal opinion is that everywhere else in the world is inferior or unsuitable to him because of all that he has had the pleasure to take from his lifetime here. Everybody has their own version on New York and it all begins from the first time you lay your eyes on the landscape. That is the moment that you start to form your own timeline of being here even if only for a short time. To Colson, whatever your first experience or impression of a particular neighborhood is will always stay the same no matter how much it changes in the future. There are a lot of stories that come with New York, but according to Colson, none of it is as true to you as your own experiences are. Although you may wish you could, you can’t anticipate the change that will come so you need to remember and cherish what you know and what was significant to you while it was there. Everything will still be, to you, as you see it. Not necessarily what it is or has become. He goes on to relate it to your own city as it is not his or anyone else’s. There may be similarities or maybe not. Either way we are all here together and can be connected in the most obscure way. Once you lose your city and what it has taught you (not physically, but mentally), you will be as lost as you were right before you had your very first experience in that city you created.

Bio

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My name is Ryan Hobe. I am a freshman at the New York City College of Technology. I like to play basketball and enjoy my life as much as possible. I take pride in the fact that I am independent, living on my own, and supporting myself although i have a loving family that would do anything for me if i needed help. Im not sure what I would like to do in the future as far as a career, but I like to work with my hands and be outside around other people. Engineering seems to be a good field to find that type of work environment. I would like to be comfortable in my old age as well as keeping my family comfortable. The only way to do this is to ensure a good future by landing a good job. I have many problems and daily stresses, as I’m sure everybody else does, but I try not to let it get in the way of my education and goals. Hard work pays off. I have only been in Brooklyn for about a year and a half so although I have seen and experienced new things i look forward to getting to know my new home. I plan on staying here for a very long time, but in the case I don’t, I will never forget all that I learned and the people that I’ve met. I believe that as long as i can stay focused and not get distracted by things less important I will be a very successful individual.

My chose this avatar because I am generally a happy person and my smile expresses that. I also like the shirt that i am wearing that says “sustain life”, because I promote staying alive in general which might not be as easy as some may believe. It also means to me that people should make the most of their lives while they’re here and sustain or strive for a better style of living. The water in the background is just something I’ve always loved from vacations or movies. To me it’s just very relaxing and nature is a good way to get away from problems you may have in the real world.

Other people may interpret my avatar differently that I do. They might look at my smile and think to themselves that I’m corny or somewhat of a clown because i kind of think the same thing at first-glance. They may look at my shirt and think I’m some kind of hippie or activist. The water could symbolize that I could want to be a marine biologist or something in the field of ocean exploration.

I think that my profile will convey that I am a driven person who wants to succeed. Happiness is the key to living a fulfilling life. As long as you’re happy you will be more concentrated and able to achieve your goals. I also hope that it conveys strength and that I would like to help others achieve if possible. I like to see other people do well because that makes me feel like more things are possible for me.

Homework from class on 9/18

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For homework, write a summary of “City Limits” in a blog post. That means it should be roughly 250 words. Use the handout on writing a summary to help you decide what belongs in your summary and what does not. Choose the category “Homework” and add any tags you think are appropriate for your post. Also choose the tag for your group–I’ve added them all for this post, so you can just choose it from the list of tags. Publish your post by the end of the day on Friday.

Before class on Monday, comment briefly on the summaries of each of your groupmates. You can find them easily by clicking the tag on the right-hand sidebar of our site. Your comments might include suggestions to improve the summary, aspects of the summary that you would like to incorporate into your own summary, comments about the style of the writing, or questions you have about something they’ve included. Remember that we want comments to be encouraging, and that any comments should be respectful and helpful.

Additionally, you must revise Project #1 based on the comments I made in class and in my letter to you.

I look forward to reading your work!