Tag Archives: E.B. White

Here Is New York

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1. What is your impression of the opening line of White’s book: “New York bestows gifts of loneliness and the gifts of privacy.” Do you agree or disagree with White? If so, why? If not, why not? How effective is the opening? What does it accomplish, if anything?

The opening line of E.B White’s book is a bold statement which introduces the reader to what New York is through his perspective. I personally agree with White’s statement since as a native New Yorker, I believe that living in this city has made me appreciative of both the gift of enjoying alone time, as well as the gift of being able to keep certain things to myself. I believe it is an effective way to start this book because it immediately grabs your attention as a reader. Usually, privacy and loneliness can have negative connotations towards them, but in making these things a “gift,” White causes the reader to think outside of the box. Instead of talking about something typical like Madison Square Garden or with the phrase “the city never sleeps,” White chooses to open his book with an unexpected play on words that immerses the reader into the story and leaves them wanting to know more about New York.

2. How and why does the writer use lists in this book?

White uses lists in many instances throughout the book in order to group different categories into a collective statement. For example, when he begins to describe exactly where he is standing, White groups events such as city fights, specific street names, neighborhood businesses, etc… to group all these distinct things and places together. It’s also makes the writing seem more personable, more of a conservation than a formal writing. The lists inform you and keep the writing more casual.

E.B White, Here in New York Answers

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1. What is your impression of the opening line of White’s book: “New York bestows gifts of loneliness and the gifts of privacy.” Do you agree or disagree with White? If so, why? If not, why not? How effective is the opening? What does it accomplish, if anything?

My impression of the opening line of White’s book is that it is intentional. A gift is described as something that is given to you with honor. To me a gift shows reverence to someone. So when I read New York bestows gifts of loneliness and gifts of privacy I took it as both positive statements. People may disagree with loneliness and privacy being a gift, however, I must disagree. I think breakthroughs happen in solitary moments.

2. How and why does the writer use lists in this book?

List provide an umbrella or bridge of words that may not necessary seem natural together. E.B White keeps us on our toes with his lists, providing thought provoking comparisons in a provocative tone.

Here is New York

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1. It’s an incredibly effective opening, as White does an excellent job of describing what I believe is everyone’s exact feelings towards New York. Privacy is most definitely a plausible gift, as it is something people generally seek out, and New York, while crowded, loud, and often cramped, can provide complete and much needed alone time among the ruckus in a simple corner booth of a restaurant or a park bench.

Loneliness is easily attainable here as well. Even in a city full of people, one can feel incredibly alone. Whether it’s in a packed subway car or a Baruch elevator, one can literally be surrounded by other bodies and yet be utterly alone. Or, live in a building be completely alone. New York is unique in that it offers this feeling, and you must actively seek people out to combat this.

2. How and why does the writer use lists in this book?

White uses lists to make points in his book. He uses lists to make the point that every single thing he lists, no matter how long the list may be, is incredibly important. That New York is the center of everything he lists, in no particular order. And that he is just blocks away from all these places that so many important events occurred, again, in no particular order of importance. He effectively shows the importance and the history of New York in his lists.

“Here Is New York” questions

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  1. What is your impression of the opening line of White’s book: “New York bestows gifts of loneliness and the gifts of privacy.” Do you agree or disagree with White? If so, why? If not, why not? How effective is the opening? What does it accomplish, if anything?

    I have to be frank in saying that the opening line of this book didn’t stand out to me as anything particularly spectacular. I don’t mean that it’s boring or that it doesn’t make me want to continue reading. I just mean that it’s a well-written opening line, and it does the job of “drawing the reader in and making them want to know why and how New York does this.” It’s an interesting statement and it accomplished its goal, but it’s not really what I remembered most from my first reading of the book.
    I do agree with it, however.
    When one thinks of the concept of a gift, positive things come to mind: birthdays, holidays, congratulations on events like graduation. But a gift is simply something that one person gives to another; it isn’t inherently a good thing. After all, the Trojan Horse was supposed to be a gift, and that ended with the destruction of Troy.
    So I think that White isn’t wrong to call loneliness a gift–the city bestows it on its residents whether they want it or not. Seeing all the lights of Manhattan shining unwaveringly in the distance feels a lot like looking at a sky of stars–you can’t even comprehend how many there are, how many worlds or people (who are worlds unto themselves) they represent. You look out on them and realize you can spend your whole life here and never know more than a single drop in an ocean’s worth of the population at any given time–and like the contents of a tidepool, the people who make up the population keep changing. Maybe it’s a good thing the light of the city blocks out the stars–feeling twice as small would be overwhelming.
    Privacy, however, is definitely a gift one might want from New York. While I was thinking about this part of the line, I remembered a line from The Great Gatsby, spoken by the character Jordan Baker: “And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.” It’s easy to get lost in New York, to blend in with the crowd. There’s so many houses, town houses, and apartment buildings (both private and public) that the odds of easily finding someone’s residence by chance or trial-and-error are slim to none. It’s impossible to ask someone whether they know another particular person and hope for a positive answer. Everyone has their own life to worry about, never mind the life of one person in eight million. For the same reasons one might feel lonely, one might feel comforted knowing that they won’t be found by any old person any time soon if they don’t want to be.

  2. How and why does the writer use lists in this book?

    White incorporates his lists into the prose, letting them flow naturally with the writing rather than setting them aside in bulleted format. They don’t obstruct the narration, and it’s only on looking more closely that one realizes that they’re lists. White uses these lists when he’s trying to make a point about a certain multi-layered aspect of New York–on page 20, for example, he describes events and people in the city’s history in terms of how far from his hotel they occurred or were. It gives the effect of showing how at any given point, even somewhere like a hotel, one is never too far from some point of interest or some part of the city that was touched by history. All the lists serve this or a similar purpose; all the lists demonstrate just a few of innumerable aspects or possibilities for any given subject.

E.B. White “Here Is New York”

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1.) What is your impression of the opening line of White’s book: “New York bestows gifts of loneliness and the gifts of privacy.” Do you agree or disagree with White? If so, why? If not, why not? How effective is the opening? What does it accomplish, if anything?

The opening line gives the reader a glance into White’s mindset and thoughts about New York City, allowing them to get an idea of the tone of the rest of the book. I agree that New York “bestows gifts of loneliness and…privacy.” The city is so large that one can often feel small and lost in the hustle and bustle. A place with such grandness often makes people feel alone. Despite the overabundance of people, there is a sense of privacy in that everyone is generally more concerned with themselves and their own issues or tasks that they often don’t take notice of others, allowing for that sense of privacy. I feel the opening was very effective. It establishes the topic of the book and it gives the reader a look into White’s view of NYC.

2. How and why does the writer use lists in this book?

The writer uses lists in paragraph form as description. He lists places, situations and people in a way that exemplified that topic being discussed. These examples give the reader a deeper look into New York, aiding in their comprehension of the subjects presented.