Living with Stranger - Siri Hustvedt

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Living with strangers All cultures and societies have unspoken rules and etiquettes that an outsider simply will not understand. Whether it’s in Minnesota where greeting everyone is considered compulsory or New York City where addressing a stranger would make you seem mental. This observation is what has inspired author Siri Hustvedt to write her essay “Living With Strangers” in 2002. The title refers to a paradox that is apparent in every major city, although never specifically mentioned in the essay: We are becoming increasingly isolated while being surrounded by more and more people. Siri Hustvedt describes this through an anecdote from her first apartment in New York. Even though she was living alone at the time, she depicts her neighbours as roommates because she was the witness to several acts that should remain private such as a heated argument from downstairs and walking around wearing only underwear. However, she did not know these people. They lived so close and (unintentionally) shared so many private moments and yet, Siri Hustvedt can still not see them as anything else other than “fellow New Yorkers”. That is why she is living with strangers. One aspect of living with strangers that Siri Hustvedt is deeply fascinating by is the pretend-it-isn’t-happening-law, which is an extension of the previously mentioned etiquette about never greeting a person you do not know. It is a peculiar phenomenon because one would think that people move to the cities to be around other people and to get in contact with other lost souls when, in fact, most of the time is spent indoors or looking down at the ground in a crowded subway. Human interaction in a modern world is a complex subject to discuss and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to find a definite answer to how you actually should act. Should everyone do as in Minnesota or New York? Siri Hustvedt does

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