E.B. White`s “Here Is New York”

E.B.White’s “Here Is New York”

E.B.White showed his supremacy in literature in his exemplary work “hereis new york.” The book is white’s explanation of New York in amanner that easily captures the reader’s attention. For instance,he describes the noises in New York, the odors as well as the city’sfrightening dimensions. What is more, he further analyses the cityand describes its people as diamond bright and filled with a touch ofsoftness (White 5). However, White has grouped the people of New Yorkinto three different groups this grouping has received somecriticism since it was not an actual representation of the region.The following paper is an analysis of White’s representation of NewYorkers we will also discuss why this representation is inaccurate.

Inhis work, White has grouped New Yorkers into three groups theseinclude the New Yorker who was born there, the commuter and the NewYorker who came from an entirely different place to pursue a dream.The New Yorker born in New York tends to take the city for grantedand accepts its size claiming that its turbulences are natural andhence unavoidable (White 4). On the other hand, the commuters come towork in the city then they leave very tired and worn out only to comeback for work the next day. Finally, the New Yorker pursuing a dreamworks hard from the time they arrive and ends up achieving a lot andcontributing greatly towards the city. According to White, thecommuter is to be blamed for the city’s restlessness while thenatives give it solidity and continuity. Finally, the settlers givethe city passion since they embrace it with the intense innocence ofa fresh adventurer (White 4).

However,in my opinion, White’s explanation is wrong since he could havegiven a better explanation of the city other than describing how thepeople got there. For example, White could have given an explanationusing the financial status of the people. The fate of people in NewYork is not only controlled by the place they come from but also bythe amount of money they earn and also by how they spend time in NewYork. For instance, some people who visit New York end up abusingdrugs and hence they do not achieve anything in the end also, somepeople may end up becoming successful due to being from a richbackground. As such, White’s division of new Yorkers is inaccurate.

IfI were to do the whole grouping again, I would categorize peopleaccording to their financial status. I would group New Yorkers intothe rich, the middle class, or poor category. This grouping systemwill consider the person’s income as well as personal holdings suchas businesses and investments. This grouping system is more accuratesince it is easier to use and everyone will easily fit into one ofthe categories. The rich will include those people with the highestincome and most investments while the poor will be those with theleast the middle class, on the other hand, will be comprised ofthose people having an average amount of income. I believe thissystem will enable even the government to determine which group ofpeople contribute the most to the city.

Inconclusion, White’s grouping system is inaccurate since it fails tograsp some aspects of the new Yorkers for instance, his definitionof new Yorkers failed to grasp their financial statuses. As such, anentirely different grouping system should have been used. Forexample, new Yorkers could have been grouped into the rich, the poorand the middle class according to the income a person earns.

Workscited

White,E B, and Roger Angell. Here Is New York. New York: Little Bookroom,1999. Internet resource.