Reading Log Week 4
Why does de Certeau begin a chapter titled “Walking in the City” at the top of the World Trade Center in Manhattan (p. 91)?
De Certeau begins the chapter at the top of the World trade center because it allows him to see the top of the world. “Its agitation is momentarily arrested by its vision,” as we can see here by the author he is talking about the view of being at the top. He describes it as a war of events, he complies his words with transformed, immobilized, and brutal opposition. In a sense of him seeing the top of the world he symbolizes it as it worded. Allowing him to maintain consciousness of the beauty that surrounds him and allowing himself to breathe it all in and appreciate it for what it is. He also goes on and describes its competition, like Rome and New York and how they have these suburb views that block out your view when walking. When the World Trade center has a unique sense to it, you can see how walking in Manhattan is different to walking in a huge city. (165)
What does de Certeau mean when he writes, “Surveys of routes miss what was: the act itself of passing by(.)” (p. 97)?
What he means by this is people when walking miss the recognition of themselves and others passing by. It forms a way of not paying attention of your surroundings and causes people to not be self aware of what is passing by. Buildings, people, pets, trash, statues, are all being passed by without a notice. The surveys of routes is the path people take on a daily, or non daily walk. They take these paths to get to the destination but they don’t observe their surroundings as much as they should. They miss opportunities to find the act of walking and find it in its nature. Find out what its all about, how people do it, how people accomplish their outstanding’s and their natural instincts of them taking the said, “survey.” In this statement a survey is walking, in fact. It takes your knowledge, is unanimous, and brings you to a test. A test of what you are walking by, a test of who you are. (166)
