A Comparison Of Two Cities In William Gibson's Neuromancer

Eric Larson pulled me in once I read the title of the first chapter, “The Black City”. What locked me in, however, was when Larson expressed women in the city and the dangers of being a female during the specific time period. Public warnings addressing that “advertisements upon their face bear the marks of vulgarity, nor do we regard it safe for any lady to answer such unseemly utterances” (Larson pg 11) make it clear that there is a problem. Although it seemed like a lot of information to grasp in the moment, looking back I’ve noticed that the author left room for me to picture what these criminals wanted from such innocent women.

Using descriptive diction such as “eerie” and “swamp” readers can imagine an unpleasant city rustling with filth and crime. Larson exposes that Chicago had “auras of mosquitoes” in its midst. Readers automatically see Chicago as a filthy and troublesome town when they associate it with mosquitoes. This view of Chicago created by Larson further achieves his purpose to show the downside of Chicago during the time the World Fair was being constructed and attended. When the World Fair was finished, Larson described the nights, “the lamps that laced every building and walkway produced the most elaborate demonstration of electric illumination ever attempted” (254). Larson says the lamps “laced” the walkways in the white city which allows readers to picture the city in a whimsical way. The feeling of the word “laced” sits with readers in a positive way. Thus, Larson can achieve the purpose of forcing readers to see the white city in a luxurious fashion. Also, Larson mentions that the lighting was “elaborate.” Readers see the white city as a sophisticated and lavish place rather than how they see the black city. Larson again is able to persuade readers into believing the magic of the white city. Larson calls upon imagery to construct the two sides of Chicago.

Amsterdam is then led into an orphanage where he grows to be a man, all while Bill Cutting runs the Five Points, and most of New York. The Five Points is a district of New York City and obviously the most corrupt. Crime is all to common, and sickness runs rampant in the area.

The city represents his beliefs of phonies, and also as well loneliness. Holden believed that the three women that he danced with was a lot of fun, but it only further made his loneliness stronger. After they left, Holden felt sad that

Often, we find ourselves facing dramatic and even traumatic events in our lives that force us to re-think and redefine ourselves. These extraordinary circumstances test the human limits and push us into making life altering decisions. It is at times like these that the humanity in us, our personalities, either fall apart leaving us nothing but a hollow shell, or transforms into a stronger, evolved form gleaming with compassion and self sacrifice. Night written by Elie Wiesel and Hiroshima written by John Hersey portray how every day life might un-expectantly change, how frail life really is, and how these unexpected changes test what is inside us. Both books tell the tale of how lives of civilians were interrupted by the events of World War II, what tragedies these people had to undergo, and how the horrific circumstances of war were sometimes able to bring out the best in ordinary people.

This reveals that their understanding is so limited that they find the exploitation and risk involved in prostitution funny. They like the way Suzy is so relaxed about sex if a guy don’t want a flop, why he can just set in the chairs”. She talks about it like any other commodity and accepts that it is a woman’s purpose. Suzy undermines the rival brothel 'Clara's House', by suggesting that even though it may be more fashionable, the girls have STI's - “if any you guys want look at a kewpie doll lamp and take your own chance getting burned, why you know where to go”. This shows that women like Suzy are forced to be competitive and to make themselves a business as they have no other way. George accepts this and prefers “a good whore house” to having a relationship. The price is his only focus and concern as he says “I ain't puttin out no two and a half”. This is an outrageous approach to women and sex which should not be accepted by the modern reader. But as previously stated, we trust George, and don't feel much sympathy for Curley's wife, being a woman in this society, until we understand the victimisation of women in a society where they are forced into a male stereotype.

Faye is the owner of a brothel and almost immediately takes in a new girl, Cathy, as her daughter. “There’s plenty for both of us, Kate. I could give you as much as you make and more, and you’d be worth it.” (301) Faye wants to give Cathy (who changed her name to Kate) more than she gives herself, which is not something any other woman who owns a business would do, especially with a girl that she has not known for more than a year. “Faye didn’t feel very good that Saturday night and about ten o’clock Kate persuaded her to go to bed.” (326) Faye had taken a medicine Cathy had given her and suddenly feels a change

The technology, over time, has created a dull, lifeless setting. Even the cement “vanish[es] under flowers and grass”. (Bradbury 174) The city has no passion to care for the natural world-it’s cracking and dying. Its elements have been disturbed, some removed-including the very human itself. The city has no sound, no life. Leonard can even “imagine himself upon the center of a plain, a wintry, a windless Arizona desert with no house in a thousand miles, and only dry riverbeds, for company.” (Bradbury 174) The long, silent, empty street is described as lifeless, indicating that only elements of the dystopian society

As for New York City, in the novel it is defined as the perfect place to live life to the fullest and not have a care of the world. As a reader, it is expected to envision this city full of lights as a bright, restless, and colorful place. Nick Carraway depicts New York City as a “...city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money. The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of

Throughout the story, Lost in the City by Edwards P. Jones there are many different ways the city influences the different characters. Lost in the City takes the reader through some difficult times of many African Americans in Washington. The different characters form bond that cannot be broken in order to handle what life throws at them. In the stories "The Girl Who Raised Pigeons" and "The First Day" the city influences the different main characters in different ways, to help them come of age.

Billie grew accustomed to using men to get money. Billie would pick up guys, pretending to be a hooker, and then she and her friend would jump him and take his money (W 28). "She became a fast woman. She wanted fast money, fast life" (W 26). Her life did become faster and faster as Billie was brought further down into the truths of the world when Billie became a prostitute. "[Billie] ran errands for a brothel in Philadelphia and in 1927 moved to New York, where for the next three years she earned a living as a prostitute" (E). These aspects of Billie's life molded her attitude towards life in the future, and her future decisions and goals. These influences became her boundaries, her disposition, and in some cases, her limitations.

While explaining his new daily routine, he expressed his views on the city, “I began to like New York, the racy, adventurous feel of it at night, and the satisfaction that the contrast flicker of men and women and machines give to the restless eye” (56). When he says this, his tone is a tinge of sadness but mostly acceptance. It doesn’t seem to affect or bother him that he feels solitary in a big city. He admits that he feels lonely, but he also believes other people in New York feel lonely as well. Showing that even though a big city can be exciting and filled with opportunities, it’s not always as grand as people make it

Dystopian science fiction films of the past have frequently presented a critical dystopia, by projecting future cities that perpetuates corporate capitalism’s prominent features. Examples of these features are urban decay, commodification, overcrowding, highly skewed disparities of wealth and poverty, and authoritarian policing. An example of a Dystopian science fiction film that project cities that perpetuates

The best description for the movie came from Ellie Woodward when she described this movie as the “PRETTY WOMAN follows the love story of a hooker with a heart of gold, Vivian (Julia Roberts), and a stoic, detached, wealthy business mogul, Edward (Richard Gere), who treats all facets of life like a business merger. Vivian is a charismatic, "innocent" prostitute looking to make ends meet. Driving along the Hollywood strip one night, Edward stops and asks Vivian for directions. She drives him back to his hotel and stays the night. Bemused by her company, Edward hires her for the week at a rate of $3,000. Predictably, their relationship develops into more than that of employer/employee.” (Woodward) This predictable story could have been different if Vivian had been like her prostitute friends and had been hooked on drugs when Edward picked her up.

New York City that is depicted in Taxi Driver seems to be too real to be true. It is a place where violence runs rampant, drugs are cheap, and sex is easy. This world may be all too familiar to many that live in major metropolitan areas. But, in the film there is something interesting, and vibrant about the streets that Travis Bickle drives alone, despite the amount of danger and turmoil that overshadows everything in the nights of the city. In the film “Taxi Driver” director Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader find and express a trial that many people face, the search for belonging and acceptance.