The New York City Subway System
What does “New York” make you think of?
The greatest City in the World is built on the foundation of its transportation system. To the average New Yorker, it can be seen as something that has always and will always remain constant. The ability to travel from the tippy top of Manhattan to the bottom of New York (Rockaway) within a couple of hours. On October 27, 1904, the Mayor of New York at the time George McClellan, took initiative to create this rapid system of transit New Yorkers have come to hate and love this transport system we all call the subway.
The NYC subway stretches 245 miles above and below ground allowing for over 4.3 million people to traverse through every single day. New York has always been the main source of attraction to the world. In a global context, the subway like our world continues to move and evolve. The subway doesn’t stop for anybody and the world does the same. There are millions of lives going on and the world persists on its own drum. It is either adapt or be left behind. The immense amount of cultures and different peoples creates an atmosphere like no other found in the World.
The Bronx in a Global Context
Although the events that are occurring in the Bronx in Let The Great World Spin seem to portray the Bronx as this unholy place of crime and filth, Corrigan uses the Bronx to find a sense of humanity. Corrigan’s desire to leave life in Ireland is merited due to the intense political tension, but it could be argued the the novel does not depict the grittiness and danger of life in the South Bronx thoroughly enough to justify his move.
While Corrigan’s emigration from Ireland to New York may have been religiously motivated, Ireland was in a war-like period beginning in the late 1960’s known as The Troubles. The Republic of Ireland wanted Northern Ireland to join them to create a united Ireland, while Northern Ireland wished to remain in the United Kingdom. Corrigan grew up around Dublin which is located in the Republic of Ireland, and most of the actual fighting happened in Northern Ireland during this time. Despite the fact that he may have not been exposed to certain events, the violence that was occurring was certainly close to home and there even were many events throughout the late sixties and early seventies (like bombings and targeted attacks) that did happen in Dublin.
Seeing the events occurring across Ireland, it becomes clear why Corrigan wished to leave. But the state of the Bronx in the late sixties and early seventies was not much better. In the 1940s, the South Bronx was a desirable place for an immigrant to live in. There was a wide mix of races and cultures, and the housing situation was much better than having to live in a tenement in Manhattan.
It is interesting to learn that the state of the Bronx in the sixties and seventies erupted very quickly. With the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway, property value was rapidly declining. The Civil Rights Movement heightened racial tension, and the implementation of desegregation was causing many families to vacate the city and move to suburbs where de facto segregation was taking place. During the seventies, crime rates rose dramatically and arsons were taking place all over the borough. In some cases, entire neighborhoods were burned down for the benefit of landowners receiving insurance money.
So, it is hard to understand why Corrigan emigrated to the South Bronx of all places. Corrigan is valued as a savior to the people living there. While he isn’t lifting them or himself out of poverty or prostitution, he is opening up his home and helping them as much as he can. He is searching for humanity in the South Bronx, but it would impossible for Corrigan to truly feel fulfilled in his duties since he cannot even tackle the major underlying issues plaguing the South Bronx.
The Connection Between the Title and The Culture of NYC
NYC is a bustling place, always full of movement and life. That is the main reasons the title is so fitting for the book. The title “Let the Great World Spin” could be interpreted as a reference to the world’s spinning implies constant movement, similar to the phrase “The city that never sleeps.” This idea is one which perfectly encapsulates the essence of NYC. The 24 hour subway, the constant bustle and lights of the city are all factors that contribute the restless nature of the city.
The “Great World” part of the title can be seen as referring to the many people from many places making up the diverse culture of NYC – all of the immigrants and families that form the melting pot of the city. And, since the people of NYC stem from all over the world, the city as a whole is on its on, indeed a small scale version of the “Great World”. The simple fact of living in NYC unifies the people who live there. Sometimes, a completely novel or tragic event will make this unity more apparent, such as a tightrope walker walking between the Twin Towers or the 9/11 attacks. In the day to day activity in NYC, simple acts of kindness or the fact that nearly all residents take the subway, have seen the skyscrapers of Manhattan are all components of the unique unity found in the “Great World” of NYC.
New York and its people have survived through many things, both good and bad. No matter what, the city keeps going despite any adversities to small parts of the city or the entire people of New York City as a whole. This never stopping no matter what is another way the title of the book could be interpreted. Similar to phrase, the sun will still rise in the morning, the world will keep spinning, and New York City will keep on doing its thing no matter what.
Locksley Hall and Al-Mu’allaqat
“Forward, forward let us range, Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves of change.” Locksley Hall
“Let the great world spin forever down the ringing grooves of change”- these few words from Alfred Tennyson’s Locksley Hall embody the nature of progress and the ultimate choice we must make to accept or deny the inevitable movement of time and memories. Locksley Hall is a poem that follows a strict trochaic metre in which stressed and unstressed syllables are alternated, emphasizing the conflict of perspective discussed within the text. The poem serves as a monologue and follows the thoughts of the narrator who initially reflects on his anger and resentment towards his past and lost love. He then considers the world at large and whether the forward momentum of civilization is beneficial and necessary. Ultimately, he supports the progress of mankind and dreams of a “vision of the world, and all the wonder that could be”(Locksley Hall). He leaves behind his past and the memories of Locksley Hall as he looks towards the future(“Locksley Hall”). .
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Tennyson drew inspiration for Locksley Hall from the Al-Mu’allaqat. The Mu’allaqat is a collection of Arabic poems from the sixth century which are often referred to as “The Seven Golden Odes.” They capture elements of Bedouin life and key truths through detailed description and a set structure. The poems are written in a form known as qasidah (also known as an “ode”) which is thought to derive from “quasada” meaning to go forward or “quasar” meaning to break(“On the Hanging Odes of Arabia”). Within this form, the poems were divided into three distinct parts-the nasib, the rahil, and the fakhr. The nasib begins each poem with a focus on memories of past love which is followed by explorations of values through description in the latter parts of the poems.
Through both the poems in Al-Mu’allaqat and Tennyson’s subsequent Locksley Hall, memories and lost love are reflected upon but ultimately become permanent fixtures of the past for their respective speakers as forward movement is emphasized. Even within the restrictions of the poem’s meters, which parallel our society in some ways, the speakers find freedom to express visions of the present and the future. Colum McCann draws from these monumental works in his title Let the Great World Spin which not only encapsulates the importance of memories and dreams for the characters in the novel but the way in which NYC embodies the momentum in our world and the strive forward each poet had envisioned in their poems.
Through its parallels to culture and historical events, NYC has always been a microcosm of the world at large. The concept of letting the great world spin detailed in the Mu’allaqat, Locksley Hall, and Let the Great World Spin further highlight the meaning of NYC in our lives and as a representation of our whole world.
