“My Little Bit of Country”
As a child, you are very security seeking, and everything different from the usual, especially big changes, can seem strange and uncomforting. As we grow up, different becomes exciting, and we get used to the changes. For the most of us. However, there are those who truly cannot deal with these changes – security addicts. In the essay “My Little Bit of Country” from the anthology “Central Park” from 2012, the American writer Susan Cheever writes about her life In New – and how she loves the life there much better than the life on the country. In this essay, I am going to analyse and comment on the text with focus on the contrasts between New York and the country. I would also like to have a look at the themes that are used in the text.

Contrasts, contrasts, contrasts...

There is no doubt that the contrasts between the urban life and the life on the country are very thought-through by Cheever. She has created a potpourri of contrasts, which emphasizes the bond between Cheever and Central Park. For instance, “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 […]?” This is just one of many examples, where she trashes the country and praises New York, or rather Central Park. In the beginning of the text, we do not exactly know why she hates the country so bad, but what we do know, is that she loves Central Park, and that she just cannot live without it. In page 3 , Cheever mentions Andy Warhol, who had said that the reason why the city was better than the country was that in the city he could find a little bit of country, but in the country there was no signs of the city. She adds that she knows exactly what he means, because Central Park was her little bit of country in the city. This saying of Andy Warhol is another contrast, because by saying that you can find the country in the city but not otherwise, he is indirectly suggesting that the city is better than the country, as the city has both – and therefore everything. Cheever calls the park a “collision of man and nature” , and she explains this by saying that “the most intense city in the world (New York, ed.) is forcefully interrupted by some of the most glorious corridors of trees and abundant gardens in the United States.” By saying this, she emphasizes the gloriousness of Central Park, and by enhancing New York as “the most intense city” and the “glorious corridors of trees and abundant gardens” of Central Park, she automatically makes it seem superior from the country.
But she does not just praise New York for being beautiful. It makes her feel safe. She says that the country frightens her in many ways. The impossibly dark nights and the sound of the nature makes her feel defenceless, and therefore the city makes her feel safe – because the nature is somehow controlled. “I long for the natural wonderland that is wild enough to delight and tame enough to enjoy – the wonderland called Central Park.” In this quote we finally see, why she loves Central Park. It is because of its behaved nature that she can enjoy without being afraid. She likes New York because it is controlled.

Safety

The reason why Cheever loves New York is that it is safe, which really is a huge theme of the text. It reminds her of her childhood, when she was an only child and the city was a romantic place of dreams, and it was here her father’s carrier started. She also quotes him in the text, which shows the big respect she has to her father. He describes the “long-lost world” of New York that was filled with river light, and you could hear the Benny Goodman quartets on the radio. You can feel the atmosphere of this city, and on page 3, when Cheever describes her later adulthood, she describes Central Park as the exact same peaceful place, as her father did. Beautiful and safe.
Another big theme of the text is insecurity. Cheever moves back to New York to get safe, because the nature of the country made her insecure. The reason why she stays in New York after having children might be for her children’s sake, but maybe not for the right reasons. She wanted to stay in New York so bad when she was a little girl, and so she does not want her children to feel the same kind of “loss” as she did, when she moved to Westchester. She has become some kind of addict to the atmosphere of Central Park, and being away from it is just not right for her. She has everything there, so why would she want to go anywhere else?

Conclusion

Cheever is addicted to the beauty and safety of New York and Central Park. She does not hate the country, but the uncontrolled nature with wild animals and the lack human noises of cars and crowds scares her and makes her feel defenceless and uncomfortable. So what seems to be an “I-want-to-live-in-the-wealthy-part-of-New-York”-attitude, actually turns out to be an insecure woman’s way of staying safe.