The City Both Offers and Restricts Possibility - Essay Example

? The both offers and restricts possibility This study paper seeks to discuss the ment; the both offers and restricts the possibility, from Lehan’s book, The City in Literature. To indicate the author’s point of view and meaning of the statement, the paper will use two external literatures. We will analyze James Joyce’s book Dubliners with particular focus on the story, The Dead and the film, Metropolis. The meaning of the city both offers and restricts possibility has several links to Joyce’s The Dead and Metropolis. The literature by Richard Lehan revolves around the statement; the city both offers and restricts possibility (Lehan, 1998, p.250). In the first, part of The City, in Literature, the author links various aspects of life to the growing city. The residents have to deal with and understand the western idea of the growing city. The author uses philosophy, literature, and urban history to untangle the contradictory images and meanings of the urban experience. The growth of the city led to considerable rural to urban migration. Most people expected to lead a better life in the city. In the minds of these people, the introduction of the city gave them a picture of the western-like city forgetting the aspect of growth and time. Every idea and places starts from the first steps and should be given time, and enough resources to grow before we can start utilizing. The western idea of a city is what the characters in the book have in mind in relation to the city. The author traces the connection between creative writing and the city from the early novel in England to the apocalyptic cityscapes of Thomas Pychon. This relationship aims at bringing out the understanding of the people of the city. Along the way, Lehan collects a prosperous backup of prop up, which includes Charles Dickens, Daniel Defoe, James Joyce, and even Theodore Dreiser. The European city in the literature has several shortfalls, and this is what the author emphasizes in his works. Notable in the literature is the turn down of feudalism while, at the same time there is the rise of the realm and dictatorship. The author relates the American city against the observable fact of the wilderness, the cutting edge, and the augment of the megalopolis. However, this is not the picture of what the residents of the city have, and this is only present in the available literature. From the above description, the statement; the city both offers and restricts possibility comes to light. In this notion, possibility could be in terms of the people’s ability to change and reform their lives to suit that of the American city. The statement means that the magnitude of change lies in the people’s ideology of the city. The presence of the city acts as a bridge to their achievement of the various things they need. For instance, in the event people want to have a better life economically, socially, and legally, then they have the city as their gate pass. On the other hand, the city acts as a limitation to the achievements of these dreams because of the existing restrictions. These restrictions are in terms of leadership, which is not so liberal hence, limiting the city’s residents in their ideologies of life. The City in Literature presents sharply imprinted portrayals of the correspondence between rationalism and entrepreneurship (Lehan, 1998, p.246). In as much as this information is only present in literature, the people have the capacity to changing this in to a real life practice. The resources and infrastructure, which can make this possible, is present in the city. However, the leadership in the city, which is mostly dictatorship, limits the occurrence of this development. The literature further explores the rise of the city, the demure of the landed estate, and the development of genres. The detective narrative, the gothic, and fantasy literature enable the author to explain the meaning of the city both offers and restricts possibility. Urban life is a process and requires exploration in all aspects of the study. The literature enables the reader to understand the challenges of urban life, which mostly goes unreported. More so, the author uses this literature platform to give different people, especially those who are yet to experience, the picture of urban life. The meanings and mysteries of urban life can be misleading for people who have not lived the life yet, and this literature provides insight on the subject. From the analysis of The City in Literature, it is almost certain the statement; the city both offers and restricts possibility, means the challenges people in urban areas face in the wake of achieving their dreams. The city, in the book, symbolizes the platform individuals create in their mind when they set their dreams. In this case, the city can present possibilities of either achieving the dream or not attaining the set goals. James Joyce’s The Dead is a short story, which equally has relations to the statement; the city both offers and restricts possibility. From the title of the story, we meet the greatest theme of the tale, which is mortality. For instance, the setting of the tale is during winter, which is ordinarily a holiday season (James, 1914). However, this season has the possibility of death, as most people believe it is a season of death. Just as, the statement implies, the setting provides the characters with two possibilities in life. The possibilities in this setting are of life and death. Holiday seasons allow people to celebrate life and be with family as they gather for the celebrations. The tale begins with a setting of a party with the two old aunts expecting visitors for their celebrations. The two old aunts represent the attack of time, which is the other possibility in the setting. Aunt Kate has hearing problems making it hard for her to hear Gabriel’s speech. The dinner and party make Gabriel worry about the life of his aunts. In addition, the party in the winter season makes Gabriel to ponder about both life and death. We see him wonder how long his aunt has to live, as he fears that he would be back for Aunt Kate’s funeral. The mortality theme is present even when Gretta remembers a dead boy through as song sung at the party. The Dead is a rich story, which mixes the joy of the event with sombre manifestation and several small but significant occurrences, the magnitude of which is acknowledged slowly but surely by the reader. Although the setting of the tale is a party, there are also main times of heartfelt connection and emotion between loved ones. For instance, Gabriel’s moving speech, which brings his dear old aunties to tears (James, 1914). Another notable instance in the tale, which is a clear indication of the statement; the city offers and restricts possibility, is the discussion between Lily and Gabriel. Gabriel commends Lily on her increased beauty and maturity, which he links to her imminent wedding. This talk was to yield substantial talk, and Gabriel to hear of the virtuous life Lily anticipates in marriage as she has come of age. However, Lily’s response to Gabriel’s issue about the wedding and marriage is contradicting. The response is scathing, considering that we read of Gabriel admiring Lily’s beauty. The talk was to excite Gabriel, but, it leads to him being disturbed by the comments from Lily. What should have been pleasant became quickly unpleasant, making Gabriel worry about his speech. Gabriel fears that other people in the party may fail to understand his speech just like Lily did not understand. The tale has the theme of isolation, which is present in the characters. In most usual cases, parties need to provide people with a platform to enjoy and celebrate with other persons who can be friends or relatives. After the party, people need to be contended with staying out with other people because, this happens occasionally. However, the story gives the reader two contrasting possibilities after the party. After the party, Gabriel spends the journey home assessing his relationship with his wife and the happy moments they have had in their life. This is a moment of isolation, which should not be the case after being with friends and relatives. The couple drives home together, but, each party seems to be lost in thoughts about their lives. However, together, the couple is in isolation as they sink in their different thoughts. Marriage is symbolic to the city in the above statement. Marriage can present the partners with two different aspects concerning isolation. Marriage can be a source of companionship while, at the same moment, it can limit people from being lonely. People get married for different reasons and companionship is the foremost reason for this union. Just like the statement implies, the city offers and restricts, possibilities marriage can offer and restrict isolation. The other aspect is that of the party which can present people with two different perspectives, either happiness or sadness (James, 1914). The other literature related to the statement, the city offers and restricts possibilities, is Metropolis(1927). This is a film based on the revolutionary city dystopia, which follows the efforts of Freder. Freder is the son of a wealthy intellectual man and the film revolves around the struggle Freder undertakes in straightening out the classist natural history of their city. The most unraveling thing about the film is the absolute and naive storyline. In the film, a city should give all its citizens equal opportunities to achieve their dreams. However, in Metropolis, the city is exploited; this is characterized by oppression of workers by the wealthy intellectuals. The city has notable difference in the different lifestyles the residents led, which is a clear indication of the growing line between the rich and poor (Metropolis, 1927). The introduction of urban life aims at reducing this difference between the poor and the rich, but, according to film this is not the case. The case is so worse that we see Maria gather underprivileged children to have the experience of rich lifestyles. The urban life in the film comprises of wealth intellectuals and poor workers who have no chances of leading an exemplary life. The possibilities in the film include that of a decent life or poor lifestyle and these two options rely on the wealth, intellectual, and power of individuals. The setting of the city gives the viewer an intriguing scene, which creates a better picture of cities. Just like the City in the Literature, the city in the film is a representation of the western ideologies of urban life. The skyscrapers in the film are a representation of New York which aims at bringing a better impression. For any viewer of the movie, the residents of the city need to be people who have access to the best urban life. More so, one will not expect these city residents to lack the basics of life and ethical governance. This is one of the possibilities on the physical appearance of the film. The other possibility is that of suffering individuals who are in oppression from the dictators of the city. The production of the film received much airplay as it helped minimize the oppression of the poor people in the society (Metropolis, 1927). Lehans’s description of the city in his literature was sufficient for relating the ideas to other literatures with the same subject. The Dead by James Joyce had a similar message especially in the setting of the tale. The themes contributed heavily to the relation to the statement in question. The Metropolis film had the best setting in relation to urban life. The question of urban life and its realities are the subject of the film, which most people seem to embrace. The literatures used in this paper have provided varied possibilities of urban life. The principal one is the presentation of city life as the only key to a better life. This is the possibility that most people have in their mind as they relocate to cities all over the world. However, the people find a totally opposite life from their expectations, which leaves them discouraged and hopeless. This information, however, does not reach other people in other available modes and requires the use of literature and films to create awareness. From the above discussion, it is almost certain that Lehan was right in his statement, the city both offers and restricts the possibility, as this is the case in all urban life. References Lehan, R.D.(1998). The City in Literature: An Intellectual and Cultural History. California: University of California Press. James, Joyce. (1914). The Dead. In, Dubliners. Ireland: Hardback & Paperback Metropolis. (1927). Directed by Fritz Lang. Weimer: UFA film. Read More