Essay - My Little Bit of Country
The upbringing of children is parents’ most important obligation during the course of their life. Preparing your children for adulthood is essential, because we live in a modern and globalized world with ever changing requirements. This fosters the requirement to be able to adapt and face new challenges on a daily basis. However, there is an ongoing trend, in which parents are being overprotective of their children. This consequently leads to their children being unable to explore the outer world and attain valuable skills which can be used later in life. Susan Cheever, an American writer and mother of two children, depicts in her essay, “My Little Bit of Country”, her childhood experiencing both city and country life. The essay was originally published in 2012 in the anthology Central Park.
As the title of the anthology indicates, the story mainly takes place in Central Park, New York. The essay is told from Susan Cheever’s perspective, thus it’s not an omniscient narrator, but a 1st person narrator with access to her own mind. The story begins with Susan Cheever recalling the mornings of the summer, going to Central Park with her father, whom had just returned from the war. The essay progresses on chronically, with her growing up and moving into the suburbs, until she finally as an adult returns to the city, when she herself have children. Therefore it’s somewhat safe to assume, that the essay starts after the war in the 1940’s and ends somewhere in the present time close to the year 2012, when it published.
Susan Cheever’s writing style is different and she is able to interact with her readers. Her use metaphors and adjectives when describing Central Park, initiates the reader’s imagination and senses, enabling the reader to place him- or herself next to Cheever, as if the reader was strolling through the park by her side: “One night the surface of the water heaved and buckled, and a turtle as big as a small car, a mossy prehistoric apparition in the middle of the city, inhaled the biggest chunk of our bread…”. (Page 10, line 278). These descriptions of the park continue throughout the essay, consequently it’s the impression that she is really fond of Central Park. When her parents are expecting another child, they decide to move out of the city into the suburbs. She isn’t at all thrilled about this and she misses the city life, but most importantly the park. Her obsession with the park is seen in the following quote: “… as soon as I was old enough to take the back in to New York I did so at every opportunity”. (Page 8, line 126). Although this indeed shows her obsession, is it similarly, an example of her independence and will.
The essay brings up several different contrasts, where the most predominant one is the contrast in which the life in New York and the suburbs is described. As mentioned is Cheever not fond of the suburbs and this definitely affects her writing. The suburbs are described as a dull and tedious place with no exciting activities to do. This is portrayed, when she describes her opportunities to go swimming and ice-skating, respectively in New York and the suburbs: “Why would I want to swim in someone’s muddy pond crawling with leeches when I could perch myself on a marble basin and cool myself with splashing clear water, topping it off with a lemonade from the cart on fifth Avenue. Why would I want to scrape around the rough, dangerous ice of a country lake when I could glide around the smooth ice at the Wollman Rink and pause for a hot chocolate when my toes and fingers got too cold”? (Page 8, line 110). According to Cheever are the suburbs not only boring, but also filled with unknown dangers. This is fairly ironic taken into consideration that the majority of the parents whom move to the suburbs, do it because they want to raise their children in a safe environment. In contrast to the suburbs is New York, more specifically Central Park, glorified as if it was a wonderland for children.
Her intention with this essay is to inform and provoke. She wishes to enlighten parents with the belief that children have to grow up in suburbs in order have a safe childhood and become decent adults. As mentioned previously, Susan Cheever uses stylistic devices in her essay. In addition to this, she also makes use of the different forms of appeal to strengthen her argumentation. The most predominant one is the appeal to pathos, which is the appeal to the emotions. This is clearly seen in her passion for New York and Central Park and in her objections against the suburbs. Thus, she mainly uses positive connotations when describing New York and Central Park and conversely, uses negative connotations when describing the suburbs. This is for instance illustrated in the following quote: “… splashed in fanciful playground fountains in the summer, while their country friends played on mail-order swing sets and in plastic kiddy pools”. (Page 9, line 168). Furthermore, it can also be argued that she to some extent also has some ethos appeal. We are informed that she’s a daughter of a famous writer John Cheever. She has also been living in both the city and the suburbs and thus, she must have acquired knowledge about the subject. What speaks against her credibility and whether she prevails with her essay, is the fact that she isn’t discussing the subject from an objective point of view, rather with a subjective stance.
The most obvious and important themes in Cheever’s essay, is growing up and breaking away from the norms of society. When the industrial revolution occurred, people sought cities for work in the factories, but nowadays it’s quite different. When couples today are expecting children, they often tend to settle down in suburbs, because they find that this is the ideal place for children to grow up. Susan Cheever’s parents were of the same opinion and thus moved into the suburbs. Susan Cheever decided to go against the general norm and raise her children in the city. Whether this is good choice can be argued for and against. There is no doubt that the surroundings and social environment influences children. The general norm is that suburbs are a safe place for children to grow up in. Nonetheless, do the suburbs tend to shield children and in some instances you have fit a certain description in order not to stand out. The cities are often associated with diversity and children being brought up there tend to be introduced to more cultures. This often leads to them being more open-minded and acceptable towards people whom are unlike themselves. However, the drawbacks of being brought up in cities are a higher risk of children being exposed to drugs and crime. Nevertheless, both places can foster good children as long as the parents do their primary job - raising them.