The experience of using this map to illustrate the Schearl family’s navigation of New York City was frustrating and in fact, left me feeling constrained by the spaces of the city. Many of the physical descriptions in Call It Sleep come from David’s perspective; because it is from the view of a child, the places and experiences within them feel much more vast. When describing his journey to the docks, encountering the boys, and then seeing the electricity in the tracks of the railroad, I imagined the space David occupied to be far removed from home due to his descriptions. But seeing on the map that the tracks are just a few blocks away from 9th St and Avenue D, I was able to focus and explore the natural exaggeration and juxtaposition of a child in an adult-sized world.
Despite my frustrations, I do appreciate how the map is mostly interpretation. While some specific streets and landmarks are mentioned, like the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a cross street is often not given, causing one to guess where exactly the action of the novel is occurring. For me, selecting where to place the push-pin was the hardest part to decipher (after learning how to edit the map). While reading, placing push-pins in my mind’s eye of where David was running to was simple. But with this map also came modernity. Buildings that existed in David’s childhood no longer exist and others have taken their place. The railroad tracks pushpin is located among apartment buildings; obviously these tracks are no longer there and architectural projects were developed in it’s place. We must not only decipher from the novel where David and his family’s life took place, but also how to imagine what New York City looked like to them. This exercise in extracting modernity led me to appreciate the frustration of navigating the map, for this frustration was experienced by all members of the Schearl family in navigating New York City.
Despite my frustrations, I do appreciate how the map is mostly interpretation. While some specific streets and landmarks are mentioned, like the Statue of Liberty and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a cross street is often not given, causing one to guess where exactly the action of the novel is occurring. For me, selecting where to place the push-pin was the hardest part to decipher (after learning how to edit the map). While reading, placing push-pins in my mind’s eye of where David was running to was simple. But with this map also came modernity. Buildings that existed in David’s childhood no longer exist and others have taken their place. The railroad tracks pushpin is located among apartment buildings; obviously these tracks are no longer there and architectural projects were developed in it’s place. We must not only decipher from the novel where David and his family’s life took place, but also how to imagine what New York City looked like to them. This exercise in extracting modernity led me to appreciate the frustration of navigating the map, for this frustration was experienced by all members of the Schearl family in navigating New York City.
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