It is unexpected to declare New York, a populous city which has an overabundance of people and cultured events, as a city that “will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy.” That of which is a singular perspective of E.B. White’s account of New York City as a visitor. A visitor in any vast city, such as New York, will most likely experience a great deal of loneliness and privacy. Since a visitor may not have a small group of companions because he or she has little acquaintance with the city and its inhabitants; therefore he or she would find a great deal of privacy. The more a visitor becomes acquainted with the city and its inhabitants, he or she will develop a semblance of inclusion and companionship that is possibly intimate. Then over time a visitor acclimates as a New York resident. Since White is not a New York resident and wrote this composition as a young writer and an “inveterate non traveler,” his misconception of loneliness and privacy is something that would be associated with small, dull towns and uncultured cities. Or his misconception of loneliness and privacy is used to emphasize the greater exploration of New York. In the exploration, White expounds on his observation and constant interaction with people and with the city itself. The only moments you feel a semblance of loneliness and privacy is when he describes his “moments in a stifling hotel room” and “in an office on a summer Saturday.” But this is only my perspective based on an obscure opening that reflects an abstract view.

The opening line: “On any person who desires such queer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy,” it is hard to agree with this sentence – along with its opening paragraph because it contradicts the entirety of the book – starting from the second paragraph. In the second paragraph, White immediately presents a long list of various aspects engaged in New York, and then continues a connecting list of descriptive words that presents prolific sense of unity and cohesion in New York. White further expounds with another list of eminent events that sets a tone of inclusion, by which indicates his own involvement and intrusiveness of New York and its inhabitants.