Adam Gopnik The City And The Elephant Summary

Cities such as New York are always being thought about, romanticized, and captured in film and television. In “The City and the Pillars”, an article from the New Yorker written post-9/11 by Adam Gopnik, New York is not glorified in the traditional way. Gopnik uses imagery, dialogue fragments, and an omnipresent point of view to help readers be spectators of the aftermath of the attack on the twin towers, and to remind his audience that the places people inhabit are not protected.

From the beginning, the author opens up with an image that is repeated in the conclusion of this piece as well. It begins with the idea of a protective bubble, encompassing the city and shielding it from harm. He says, “We always knew the bubble would burst” and “We imagined…no one will be hurt” to set the tone of where his

While the dialogue brings the reader in to focus on individuals, Gopnik’s point of view encourages a wider lens perspective of the city post-9/11. The reader is meant to be looking down upon the city as Gopnik takes his audience through different parts of it, traveling through New York as he describes what he sees. The piece reads as though this is a bird’s eye view of the city, with the capability to zoom in on scenes as needed. This point of view brings to light how widely the attack affected New York City as a whole, and allows Gopnik and the reader to survey the damage together.

Near the end of his article, Gopnik quotes E.B White saying “’The intimation of mortality is part of New York now’”, which once again highlights that no matter how unique, wondrous, and important a place is – it is never safe. Everywhere is vulnerable, and the bubble does not exist. From “The City and the Pillars” the reader can gather this message, along with a better understanding of the effects such tragedy can have on a place, and how people recover from