Aciman claims that it is important for exiles like himself to “bridge the things here to things there” and to “rewrite the present so as not to write off the past”. How did Straus Park help him accomplish those “impulses”?
On page 22, Aciman states, “An exile reads change the way he reads time, memory, self, love, fear, beauty: in the key of loss.” What might Aciman have wanted to portray about exiles and why?
After Aciman realized Straus Park had been renovated and not demolished he considers New York to be a shadow city of itself. Do you feel that his feeling of displacement impedes him from ever settling into a place he would be able to call home? Why?
3 thoughts on “Shadow Cities Questions”
Very nice, thought provoking questions. I do think that Aciman’s feeling of displacement doesn’t allow him to feel at home. But I would argue that Straus Park could be where he feels more comfortable and at home. It seems as if he enjoys merging different places together and visualizing things the same way. There might be something deeper to his feeling of displacement that may cause him to have issues with letting go. Letting go of what once was and now no longer is, so all he could do is imagine.
3. I believe that his feeling of displacement definitely influences his settling in a place that is not really home to him because he seems to find more negatives and reasons to dislike it than positives and why he lives there. Despite that, I think that his feeling of displacement would also allow him to live just about anywhere because no matter where he goes, he will probably not feel like it is truly home to him.
1) Your first question really got me thinking as an exile or a traveler. I think it was important for Aciman to make connections between all the places he is been to and to make a bridge between them where he can easily reach any of them anytime he wants. He made this connection through drawing the 4 directions in Straus Park that he talked about in his mind.
Very nice, thought provoking questions. I do think that Aciman’s feeling of displacement doesn’t allow him to feel at home. But I would argue that Straus Park could be where he feels more comfortable and at home. It seems as if he enjoys merging different places together and visualizing things the same way. There might be something deeper to his feeling of displacement that may cause him to have issues with letting go. Letting go of what once was and now no longer is, so all he could do is imagine.
3. I believe that his feeling of displacement definitely influences his settling in a place that is not really home to him because he seems to find more negatives and reasons to dislike it than positives and why he lives there. Despite that, I think that his feeling of displacement would also allow him to live just about anywhere because no matter where he goes, he will probably not feel like it is truly home to him.
1) Your first question really got me thinking as an exile or a traveler. I think it was important for Aciman to make connections between all the places he is been to and to make a bridge between them where he can easily reach any of them anytime he wants. He made this connection through drawing the 4 directions in Straus Park that he talked about in his mind.