Vivian Gornick (1935-)

Aim: How does the author show her unconditional love for the city life as described in the excerpt from "Approaching  Eye Level"?

Motivational Activity-

Visit the site About Vivian Gornick. Summarize what you read about her from this page.

Procedure-

New Vocabulary

  1. As we are reading the essay, have a pen in your hand and mark any expression in the essay that demonstrates her views on city life.
  2. Describe the first anecdote and explain what it tells you about people in Manhattan?
  3. Explain what she means by "On the street nobody watches, everyone performs."
  4. Through the 2nd anecdote where the narrator was looking for a washer to fix her faucet, what did she want to say about people in New York City? Why does Laura, the writer say "These are your people"? What does she mean by this?
  5. How do these characters such as Marie, Leonard, and Lorenzo help illustrate her feelings toward the city life.
  6. Interpret "...The city is opening itself to me. I feel myself enfolded in the embrace of the crowed street, its heedless expressiveness the only invitation I need to not fell shut out." (page 1036)
  7. Respond to " There is no friend, lover or relative I want to be with as much as I want to swing through the streets being jostled and bumped, catching the eye of the stranger, feeling the stranger's touch."( page 1037)
  8. Respond to "Nothing heals me of a sore and angry heart like a walk through the very city I often feel denying me."

 

HW#15 Select 20 expressions from Gornick's essay "From Approaching Eye Level" that show her various feelings toward life in New York City as a single woman. After each selected expression, explain in your own words, what feelings are expressed.

HW#16 Write a personal essay describing ways you feel attracted to the city. Your essay should draw a positive and charming picture of New York City. Use anecdotes or snippets of city life to illustrate your feelings.