My Little Bit of Country
The essay “My Little Bit of Country” is written by the American writer Susan Cheever. In the essay, Susan describes her life growing up in New York and during the text she introduces the reader to the beauty and calm atmosphere of central park, which she is very fond of, while she at the same time tells about the .
In the beginning of the essay, Susan speaks warmheartedly about the earliest memories that she has of central park, with her father in his khaki uniform and a roller-skating chimpanzee with a cigar in the central park zoo. Already, we are presented with the postwar feel that was in New York at this time, when the city was filled with a feeling of new beginnings and the pleasant sound of easy-listening jazz coming from every store. Even though she was only around 3-4 years old at this time, she sort of felt a little bit like the zoo animals in the sense that she also felt like she came from somewhere else, somewhere exotic, and in a sense she did. She was from the urban jungle of New York and had already fallen in love with the city and Central Park. But Susan’s parents didn’t share her love, they wanted something else. They wanted more children, and their two bedroom apartment couldn’t house that, so they migrated to a suburban property with a white picket fence, in true 50’s American style. Susan didn’t like this change though, as she loved the urban life that she had with all its urban features. She didn’t like living in the countryside, as she felt that it was inadequate in every aspect. She didn’t like the “real” nature that she suddenly found herself in, and she explains that she didn’t feel safe when she couldn’t hear the comforting noises of crowds and clatter of traffic. In the real nature, she was often frightened by the sounds of peyotes and owls hunting in the impossibly dark nights. As she says herself, nature in the