My Little Bit of Country by Susan Cheever

My Little Bit of Country

There is a lot of different views on Central Park, which is often referred to, as the heart of New York. Many people like the free space in the middle of the colorful and pulsating city or as some like to call it, “the capital of the world”, and others rather live in the “real” nature in the countryside with the wildlife and the purest of nature. Nevertheless, there is a lot of opinions on the world-famous park running parallel with the 5th avenue of New York. In the essay, “My Little Bit of Country” by Susan Cheever, who is a famous, American writer, you can read about her widely shared opinion on the topic. She writes about the fantastic mix of mankind and nature that you can find in New York, and especially in Central Park. She describes how the famous park in the heart of New York, has affected her while growing up, and she also tells about some of the memories from her childhood, which she remembers the clearest. She writes that she is afraid of nature and living in the countryside, as she feels defenseless when she hears the noises from the animals living in the wild. She feels much more comfortable falling asleep with the sound of cars and city life going through her mind.

Susan describes her perspective very subjective, as she clarifies how she feels about the mentioned situations, places etc. “Later in my life, I heard Andy Warhol say that it was better to live in the city than the country because in the city he could find a little bit of country, but in the country, there was no little bit of city. He was so right!”

She describes how she relates to Andy Warhol’s statement, and how she has always felt exactly that way.

She writes from a very personal perspective, which gives a personal trust to her. She uses ethos as she tells about her own memories and how it has affected her. She tells about personal experience and about her thoughts on the different subjects that she mentions. As an example, on her use of ethos, she tells about her childhood memories where she sits in Central Park with her father, in the early mornings. She writes about how you can feel free and clear your head even though you are in of the greatest cities in the world, through personal memories and experience. “It's the collision of man and nature, the collaboration of the human and the divine that makes the most poignant landscape.. ..An ocean view is lovely but often monotonous until a few boats appear.” Her use of pathos is not exaggeratedly, but for an example, you can see her use of it in the above-mentioned quote, as she uses detailed descriptions to bring some feelings and another point of views than hers from the reader. Many likes the view of a simple horizon and the waves rushing onto the beach, but with her statement she says that it is monotonous and a bit boring unless some manmade, like ships, are put into it so there is this collaboration of the nature and mankind that she thinks is the most beautiful and fantastic.