Prodigious (adjective) extraordinary in bulk, quantity, or degree: Enormous
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prodigious
“He used to be aĀ prodigiousĀ drinker and drug-taker…” -A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport by Charles McGrath
Reading the article and coming across the word prodigious, I had idea of what the word meant. The idea I had that the man was a heavy drinker. Looking up the definition of the word, I understood that the word meant quantity or a lot of something.
Juxtaposition (Noun):
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juxtaposition
the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side often to compare or contrast or to create an interesting effect.
As the man walked down the he couldn’t help it but juxtaposition the buildings he passed by saying this used to this that Or saying how this building looks a lot like the other or this building has more curves or is flatter has more levels less levels than the other building .
My walk began right after class at like 10:55. I got out of the school and made a right turned and I passed the court house and walked down jay street and metro tech for about two block I noticed there where a lot of stores around and food carts. I noticed the Nathanās cart I usually eat at whenever Iām in a rush and then the subway station I usually come and leave from. As I walked more down I noticed the pizza place I ate from once. Then I made a left turn into this Ā unfamiliar street I never been there or ate around there but there were so many stores like hawaii costume stores delis little places to grab food and eat so at the end of that block I made a left onto Lawrence street. Chipotle was on the left and five guys was on the right I havenāt ate at that chiptole much but I ate at five guys a lot so I went right and straight down myrtle ave. Once I reached the end of myrtle ave I turned left onto Flatbush ave. As I head down that road I noticed a lot of construction was going on and there was a gas station across the street. Heading more down I realized I wasnāt far from the Mattahan bridge and then I noticed a big building which was the Brooklyn international high schoolĀ Ā and it didnāt look much like a high school cause from where I live high schools look like castles mansion type not like the way this one looked so I realized I was running out of time I walked more down almost to the beginning of the bridge I noticed this one building that said bar and restaurant and it looked very fancy so right before to get on the bridge I made a left turn down this street that had parking lots and then made around left to realize damn Iām not far school so I went back to school and made it just in time for English at 11:30
Prospect(Noun) –Ā an extensive view
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prospect
“But he was disappointed that on his route the city offered no dramatic prospect of itself, not even when he detoured up Mount Prospect in Mount Prospect Park. ‘It really should be called Ex-Prospect Park,’ he grumbled.”
I new prospect in the other meaning, as in what a prospector does when he looks for minerals in a mine. I had assumed it was the same, but when I used my preconceived meaning, it didn’t fit the context. So I looked it up, and now I know prospect can also mean an extensive view. Meaning the man in the text felt that Prospect park should be renamed “Ex-Prospect Park” because of the lack of extensive view.
Melancholy(noun) -depression of spirits
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melancholy
“The next morning Mr.Self, who is unusually tall and very thin and has a long, melancholy face that he once described as looking ‘like a bag full of genitals,’ packed his knapsack” (A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport.
I always thought that melancholy just meant sad, but now I know that melancholy is more like depressed. Through the definition I can now see that Mr. Self’s face is depressed, old and saggy.
“A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport” was about the psycho-geographical analysis of New York from the viewpoint of a visitor from London. The visitor is Will Self, a novelist, recovering drug addict, and a student of psycho-geology. Will Self is a weird character in that he walks for miles on end, usually more than a marathon length at a time, he uses this as a form of relaxation rather than using drugs. The article logs his walk from JFK airport, to 1 Centre street in Manhattan. Through his walk he talks about many different boroughs, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan, and how the culture, people, and livelihoods of people living so close change from boarder to boarder.
City Limits by Colson Whitehead was largely about his perspective towards New York and why he was a New Yorker. In the passage, he explains being a New Yorker as being someone who has seen things come and go, people, buildings, businesses. When you’re a New Yorker or not, it really doesn’t matter because you’re on your own slice meaning you’re on your own. In the passage it says, “The city is constantly changing, so fast that you wonāt have the time to say goodbye.” This sentence means that everything is changing you won’t even realize it and you don’t even have the time to say bye. New York is such a big place that almost everyone in the world knows and New York has a big reputation so that is why people are so surprised to meet a New Yorker. Everything in New York changes so fast because of building constructions, people, and houses.
As you can see this is the hotel across the street and this is the statue that is in the middle of the street.
In the picture you see the workers on the left of the picture cleaning the building where you notice water on the sidewalk. On the right you see the hotel, as well the statue in the middle of the street and the Manhattan Bridge in the back of the picture.
So my journey was not as bad. So to start off once I got out of school I was already was on jay street so I started to walk and pass the court house. I proceed to continue down jay street, I walk down jay street for two blocks only and then turned left on Willongong Street. Where once I started walking there was many stores. One store that I notice was the one dollar pizza shop. That was the only shop I notice was because I always go there to get pizza. As I walked down this avenue there is a deli across the street. I turned left on Lawrence Street where Chipotle was on one side which was on the left and Five guys was on the other side which was my right. I turned right passing five guys restaurant and continued to go straight on Myrtle Ave. As I continued the street I turned left onto Flatbush Av Ext. Where as I was walking there were construction workers cleaning the building. Once I pasted them I noticed a statue in the middle of the street. The statue was like was of these two woman on the left and on the right. Across the street was a hotel named Hampton INN. The area that I was at wasn’t as crowded yet because it was still early and it wasn’t rush hour yet. There was also a high school two blocks away from the hotel. As well if you go further you will reach the manhattan bridge which was kinda crazy to cross due to the drivers who want to get out of that area so badly that they are willing to hit somebody.
In the article “A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport” by Charles McGrath something that was pointed out was that a man named Will Self came to New York to discover the city life. The way he explores New York is interesting. The fact that he walked 26 miles from his house to the airport is amazing. The fact that Ā a lot of people don’t do that or have the same mindset as Mr.Self. As well something that this article covers is the fact that he enjoys exploring New York. Mr.Self likes getting to know what New York is all about. What this article covers most is how Mr.Self goes everyday walking in New York. Which makes readers question whether or not he is obsessed with walking. Ā The amount of walking he does from certain areas and describes his interactions with other people around the area shows he is trying to react something. As well it ties on how Mr.Self overcomes his challenges which is walking. It states in the article “Alcohol and drugs tend to keep you from taking walk…But I’m not addicted, he said. I don’t need to score a walk”. So what this shows is that how some people are addicted to drugs where in Mr.Self situation he isn’t addicted to walking. It’s the fact that it’s a goal of his to achieve and it happens to be in New York that he achieves it at. The key point from this article is Mr.Self walking. The fact that he walks 20 miles and 26 miles shows that he wants to accomplish something big.
Afflatus (noun):a divine imparting of knowledge or power :inspiration
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/afflatus
This word was encounter in the article ” A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport” by Charles McGrath which states “The afflatus of the city’s bowels– now we’re getting into the real body of the city “. This is located on the three page of the article, sixth paragraph, last sentence.
When I read the definition I was still off about what the word meant Ā so I decided to read other source to better understand it. With that made me understand what the author was trying to say in the sentence. What afflatus means is inspiration. Afflatus is a divine imparting of knowledge or power. So in others words what I got from the word is that people get the desire to do things in there own way to get noticed or seen. Ā I then tied it back to the sentence which was “The afflatus of the city’s bowels– now we’re getting into the real body of the city “. What this meant to me was that since New York usually shows big building, lights, stores , amazing foods, and a lot of people. When Mr.Self discovered the train it was like saying now we are getting to the real New York and not the New York that is showen to people.
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