Colson Whitehead’s book The Colossus of New York opens with the chapter City Limits. The reasons why individuals might visit this city are stated at the beginning of the text in the second person point of view. “Or perhaps you relocated here a few years ago in search of employment. Perhaps you came here to attend class. Maybe you viewed a brochure. People begin creating their private cities as soon as they move to this city”, the author says. Whitehead frequently employs personifications and metaphors, which makes it puzzlingly unclear whether New York is a collection of shared spaces and experiential triggers that are each interpreted differently by its visitors and residents or whether these individual atomizations form an urban collective that is best described as the multidimensional phenomenon of New York City. In any case, a clear connection between the city and its inhabitants transcends people’s limited perceptions of what it may mean to live somewhere.
Additionally, the author claims that “your New York City is not my New York City” (Whitehead 3). On the uptown NO. 1 train, the author begins constructing his fictional New York City in the first person. His earliest memory is gazing out a subway window in the early 1970s as he traveled to 125th Street. He recalls how dirty the city is, referring to it as the Pan Am Building. Despite the passage of time, he can still remember the specifics. Whitehead demonstrates what he means when he states that one starts developing their private New York the first time one lays eyes on it in the third sentence. According to the author, the favorite neighborhoods, newsstands, restaurants, movie theaters, metro stops and any other beloved places distinguish unique personal cities from others. People use different methods to travel to such locations; the towns are exclusive and private.
The author compares that perception to how people would perceive New York if born and bred here. Being a true New Yorker is what Whitehead calls it, stating, “You are a New Yorker when what was there before is more real and solid than what is here now” (7). In essence, he claims that one becomes a true New Yorker when one starts to observe changes in their neighborhoods rather than only knowing about what is already there. One knows they are a true New Yorker when they visit these locations and experience those feelings of nostalgia and memories. Additionally, according to Whitehead, as soon as a visitor sets foot in New York, they immediately form their perception of what the city is like or how it appears.
The author continues by lamenting the loss of the New York he once knew. He predicts that everything will eventually change and that the New York people are accustomed to won’t exist anymore. He even gives the most precise illustration of this, saying that he will always picture the Met Life building as the former Pan Am skyscraper as he crosses Park Avenue and sees it towering over Grand Central station. He also demonstrates how false information about New York can be found in textbooks used in schools and TV shows about the city. That does not imply that the information they provide is untrue, only that it is irrelevant to the New York in which you were raised. Additionally, he expands on the many viewpoints held by New Yorkers. For instance, someone may have once gone to a particular business because it was handy for them, but when the years pass and the store closes, or a new one opens, the new customers may not be aware of what was there before.
Work Cited
Whitehead, Colson, 1969. The Colossus of New York: a City in Thirteen Parts. New York: Recorded Books.