When I think of New York City, I think of bright lights and tall skyscrapers in Times Square, despite growing up in Queens where an extension of the Big Apple still lingers. After taking this class, my perspective of New York dramatically changed. In our assigned class reading “American Notes” by Charles Dicksons, he states in New York there were no "Punches, Fantoccini, Dancing-dogs, Jugglers, Conjurers, Orchestrinas, or even Barrel-organs." It was very hard for me to dismantle the idea of New York City only being Times Square but it still amazed me that there were no attractions or events since New York City is known as a tourist area. From the jungle skyscrapers to its quaint houses, I realized New York City has multiple hearts and souls, each with a unique personality that represents various cultures, identities and historical presences.
To further expand our online class discussion, Dickens states that there are no beggars in New York despite having “poverty, wretchedness, and vice”. I found this unusual since in New York, we equate someone who is poor to be begging on the streets. However, I’m able to relate it into our other class discussion about John Locke’s notion of a virtuous citizen. I believe that the idea of a virtuous citizen is when a ‘successful’ person …show more content…
For an example, buildings that were used to store carriages, there were wide and has double doors with a curved/rounded door top. These wide and tall doorways provide an easier way for people to leave their carriages. I also noticed that some of these buildings contained another level up where there were smaller windows. I can infer that a groomer was living there to have easy access to the horses. I think it’s interesting to see how they stored their transportation, since today our garage doors for cars are also