Through Another Pair of Eyes Essay Example for Free

Through Another Pair of Eyes Essay The perception of life through someone else’s eyes can alter one’s appreciation toward that particular lifestyle. Culture is perceived differently depending on the type of environment in which we grow accustomed to. It can also range from the type of location in which we live in. For instance, someone living in a different state would have a different perception of the way we do things compared to their ways. In the essay â€Å"Bumping into Mr. Ravioli,† by Adam Gopnik, the view on life is seen differently when viewed in Gopnik’s perception. However, this perception of life changes when viewed in a different point of view. Gopnik’s perception of life through the eyes of his daughter leads him to understanding and experience an unfamiliar type of lifestyle in which he is not accustomed to. As he begins to recognize and experience this new type of atmosphere, Gopnik starts to appreciate the New York experience and understands the type of lifestyle that he must adapt to in order to live in New York. Viewing life through someone else’s eyes can ultimately change the perception of someone to appreciate and accept the type of lifestyle that must be accustomed to living in that particular environment. To begin with, Gopnik’s perception of life through his daughter’s eyes leads him to acknowledge the lifestyle of a person living in New York and learn to appreciate it. Gopnik begins to realize how busy the city of New York really is and how no one ever has time to play or hangout. He notices this through his daughter’s perspective of her imaginary friend, Charlie Ravioli. Charlie Ravioli is always busy and never has time to play with Olivia. Gopnik soon realizes how vigorous the lifestyle of someone living in New York involves. In addition, Gopnik contacts his sister to resolve the issue of how Olivia’s imaginary friend never has time to play with her. She replies, â€Å"I’m sure that doesn’t occur anywhere in the research literature. That sounds completely New York.† (Gopnik 155). This quote implies that people in New York are usually busy and never has time to do anything. Gopnik learns about the busy lifestyle of Charlie Ravioli and begins to understand more of how a New Yorker lives. Gopnik also realizes that the environment contributes to the personality of Olivia’s imaginary friend. Gopnik states â€Å"Why is busyness the stuff our children make their invisible friends from, as country children make theirs from light and sand?† (Gopnik 156). According to Gopnik, children base their imaginary friends from the type of environment they live in. For example, since Olivia lives in New York, Her imaginary friend, Charlie Ravioli, has the personality of a busy person living in New York. However, a child living on the countryside would create an imaginary that has a personality based off that environment. These two quotes exhibit the idea of different lifestyles based off different environments. Gopnik beings to understand the busy lifestyle of people in New York and understands why Charlie Ravioli never has time to play with Olivia. He learns to appreciate this type of lifestyle and will eventually grow accustomed to it especially living in such a busy city. Gopnik also learns to understand more about his lifestyle and that in order to adjust to the busy lifestyle, he has to get involved with the routine. Furthermore, Gopnik perception of life allowed him to learn about the advances of technology and communications that has evolved overtime. Gopnik never experienced these types of technology when he was younger. Nevertheless, Looking at life in his own perspective, he distinguishes the different types of technological developments such as the train and communication devices. Gopnik asserts, â€Å"If the train crowded our streets, the telegram crowded our minds. It introduced something into the world, which remains with us today: a whole new class of communications that are defined as incomplete in advance of their delivery.† (Gopnik 157). This quote implies that the creation of trains and communication devices has lead to the foundation of the busy lives of many people. For instance, people crowded the streets in order to get from one place to another using the train. This made the streets of New York even more crowded. Likewise, the communication devices influenced people to c ontact by phone, which then frequently leads to requesting for email, and ultimately requesting for fax. Although the trains and communication devices created more hassle for many people, it also made it more convenient for some New York people, allowing them to conserve more time by contacting by phone and using the train to get from one destination to another much quicker. Gopnik’s perception of these technologies allows him to realize how busy some people are in New York and do not have time to consume these technologies. In addition, the busy streets of New York limits the amount of technology inhabited in New York. Gopnik claims, â€Å"New York, though, almost uniquely, got hit by a double dose of the first two technologies, and a very limited dose of the second two. Car life-car obsessions, car-defined habits-is more absent here than almost anywhere else in the country, while television, though obviously present, is less fatally prevalent here.† (Gopnik 158). Technology is widespread in many parts of New York, however, is very limited due to the busy lifestyles of many New York people. Cars, in particular, are rarely drove around in New York because of the busy streets and heavy traffic caused by many taxis and buses. Gopnik’s experience of New York allows him to witness the advances in technology and observe the busy streets of New York. This type of life requires more walking, which creates a populated street, in order to deal with the intense traffic.