Daily Archives: September 20, 2013

Summary City Limits

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In City Limits an excerpt from The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead, the author expresses his look on the city of New York. Whitehead uses various examples and interesting forms of diction to express his message to the audience. His important message was that every person living in New York builds their own private version of New York. He states that the first time you start building your private New York is the first time you lay eyes on it. He talks about his time when he first started building his own New York. He started building his own New York in the 1970’s which he looks at in a dirty way. He calls all of the “facts” stated on documentaries about New York, hokum. This shows how he feels that New York is misrepresented by outsiders.

The author later states “There are eight million naked cities in this naked city–they dispute and disagree” this means that each person has their own version of what New York City really is. He claims how we tend to forget about our past but then mourn on how we miss what used to be there. He uses personifications when he talks about the apartments having a conversation of the people living there. His main point is when he states “Maybe we become New Yorkers the day we realize that New York will go on without us” this is important because that’s key to his point of the excerpt which is what makes each New Yorker different.

City limits Summary

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In “City Limits” by Colson Whitehead, Colson expresses his idea of New York City through out his writing. Starting by the first paragraph he writes he tells us that he was born in NYC therefore, he was ruined for anywhere else. By This he means  that like his born in NYC it already ruined the chance of him  liking any other place. For him the city is that  great that he knows for a fact theres no other place like his.

He also says New York is always changing into new things and new places but whats important  to you is how NYC is at the moment you first lay your eyes on it. That’s why you shouldn’t believe what no one tells you about the history of new York because they just telling you was THEIR New York City like not what your is. Even though NYC is always changing it would stay the same way to you but as new people come to NYC the new places would be  their different NYC. Colson Whitehead expresses his sorrow by telling us that when places change unexpectedly you don’t get to say goodbye to them because you don’t really know when is your last time sitting on that place. That’s why is very important to remember this places before they’re gone because they are   very   important to you and is part of what makes YOUR NYC so special.

City Limits Summary

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City Limits is a story told in Colson Whitehead’s point of view, the story focuses on New York City or “Your New York City” has he often refers to it by, and it is a story that really captivates the feeling of being a New Yorker in a sense. In City Limits the author Colson Whitehead begins the story by asking us the audience how we got to New York City, Colson Whitehead then proceeds to explain how and when is the reader able to be a New Yorker and according to him “you are a New Yorker when what was there before is more real and solid than what is here now.” In a later part of the reading he starts to make comparisons of the past and the present such as “But look past the windows of the travel agency that replaced your pizza parlor.” Those two comparisons are meant to make the reader think and relate about an specific place that they know and loved but now is gone and also to point out that most people that live in New York City do that sort of thinking. After that comparison Colson Whitehead starts to tell the reader that the buildings and streets in New York city sometimes know more than the actual people living in them and that once those buildings are gone our history will go with them as well. With Colson’s description of a New Yorker is no wonder that towards the end of the reading he starts to say that once you are inside New York you will not want to live anywhere else.

Summary of “City Limits”

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In “City Limits” by Colson Whitehead, Colson illustrates how he feels that New York city is the best city to live in and no other cities can compare to it. Its a good place to live in because it has a lot of opportunities like schools and jobs. You can be living here for a month and if they changed the name of something you will always know what it was before. No matter where you go or if you came to visit New York, you will always know that it is your home. Everybody will see the city in many different ways and say a whole bunch of myths about it but you will always see the city in your own point of view. Also there are eight million people living in the city and they can replace your neighborhood in many different ways but you will always see it exactly how it was when you first moved in. Also you will never get to say goodbye to any any of these things because you won’t get to know when will be the last time you will go there. When the “city goes and buildings topple too” is a strong quote Colson uses to describe what the city truly is. We have to realize no matter what happens in our city our lives goes on. Our city will always be here and nobody can take our city away from us. Colson follows this city with a guide book that is a ” handy color-coded map and minuscule fine print” that i think is the brochure he mentions in the beginning of the story.