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Engl 115 Essay Prompt 3
Engl 115 Essay Prompt 3
Josue Orellana
English 115
1 November 2017
Judith Lewis Interesting Times: An Exploratory Journey of Identity in the City of L.A.
Los Angeles is considered a unique city by most of its denizens. It is a place and a
experience not found elsewhere. Many love it, hate it and some people feel both ways. Some
love it for the lights, the weather and the glamour. Others hate it for the violence, crime and
economy. But no one, from the far reaches of the southern beaches to the valleys that border the
Los Angeles Mountains can deny its effect on their identity. It may be hard to understand how
this huge metropolis may have any deep effect on a personal and individual level. In her story,
Judith Lewis provides her view on how Los Angeles personally affected her identity and shaped
it in a way she didn't think was possible. Judith Lewis story, Interesting Times showcases the
change in Lewis identity after she moves to L.A., showing her initial dislike of the city followed
by different events that unfold in the city that lead her to realize how Los Angeles has become
In the beginning, Lewis was very hesitant about moving to Los Angeles and did not enjoy
the city very much. She clarifies in her story that she relocated to L.A. because of her need for a
job, not because she liked the city or its stereotypical appeal. As she makes the trip from
Minnesota to her new home by road she makes several stops, each time waiting a little before
deciding to move on. Along the way she becomes extremely hesitant about her relocation to
L.A., recalling an interview she saw on CNN that featured several disgruntled Angelenos. The
crime, the smog, the earthquakes, they complained - its a wonder anyone settled here in the first
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place (Lewis 6). This quote from the interview she saw on TV reflects her mindset at the time
of her moving to Los Angeles. She has not even arrived at the city but already has formed a bias
against it assuming the worst about it. She feels almost forced to move to the new city and has no
actual desire to live there. She makes it clear that she has no interest for the iconic aspects of Los
Angeles life. I did not expect to live among the monguls and demiurges of commercial
entertainment; I harbored lust for neither beach culture nor the landmarks of noir fiction (Lewis
5). She shows that she did not move there because she had any interest in what she thought L.A.
was going to be about. Even the things that other people liked about the city did not entice her.
When she arrives to L.A. her aversion towards the city grew as her preconceived notions about
the city became true. Her car, an unremarkable foreign model, was stolen twice in broad
daylight. After this experience with crime she would go on to own four more cars, all of which
would leave her stranded on a freeway and die at one point or another. This is almost reflection
of her state as she was transitioning to living in L.A. She naturally did not fit in the city and she
recognizes it as she tries to navigate in her new surroundings. The cars that all failed and died
were like her trying to find a place in the new city. Over time she would realize how she would
Eventually through experiences in the 1992 riots, Lewis started to transform her identity
in a way that connected her to the people of Los Angeles. The riots started in South Central Los
Angeles after a jury acquitted several police officers that had been videotaped beating a black
man. Despite the graphic evidence at hand the white officers were not condemned by the law.
People were angered greatly by this and took to the streets rioting, looting and destroying
property all across L.A. (Wilson). The results of these riots would play a part in the change that
would affect Lewis identity. The first event that was the beginnings of her transformation took
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place in a wedding she attended during the 1992 riots. The wedding was small and was held at a
chapel in Santa Monica and the reception was held a nearby hotel. After the reception, she and
her friends were stuck in the hotel because of the curfew set due to the riots occurring in L.A.
She and her friends were journalists, which meant they could declare themselves on duty in order
to go home without any problems, but they chose not to. They chose to stay because they wanted
to feel what it was like to live as if in a war. Their transformation for the overnight stay was
immediate, as everyone started to act in a way they had restrained themselves from acting like
before. It was, at that time, the finest night in my life in Los Angeles; it remains one of my
happiest memories (Lewis 8). Part of her identity wanted to live in the adventure and the chaos
that only Los Angeles had provided her with. Once she accepted this part of her identity, she
started to transform into a person who truly fitted in the haphazard city of L.A. She even bonded
with the strangers on streets because of the terrible events that Angelenos had to endure together.
During the riots, Lewis recollects her daily runs at Venice beach. ...I exchanged sympathetic
glances with fellow joggers who had donned protective masks against the smoke - our faces half
covered, we still managed to telegraph camaraderie (Lewis 8). Events like the 1992 riots had an
effect of bringing people together. In this time of conflict and anger people wanted to look on
towards others and assure themselves that they were all together. Lewis didn't know the people
who she was exchanging glances with but she still connected with them because they were
united under the conflict that was affected everyone in Los Angeles. Because Lewis experienced
this she started to relate more and more to her fellow denizens and made L.A. a part of her
identity. Similar to this event another major incident would lead to a change in Lewis identity.
Another event that shaped her identity was the Northridge earthquake that occurred in
1994. This earthquake of magnitude 6.7 struck the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles,
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killing more than 60, injuring more than 9,000, and causing widespread damage. Freeways
crumbled, gas mains burst and caught fire, apartment complexes collapsed, and power was lost
to vast sections of the city. Thousands of buildings were either destroyed outright, or declared
unsafe to enter, and later demolished (Taylor). This horrible disaster shocked many Angelenos
including Lewis. The earthquake left her feeling jarred and shell-shocked but also gave her
another feeling. She felt a connection to the people around her because they also experienced the
earthquake. She and the rest of the city were united in feeling, sharing a common emotion among
hundreds of thousands of people. Later during a dinner, she confessed that she would not have
left Los Angeles even if she had known about the earthquake on the day that it occurred. I
would not for all the world would have wanted to be away when the quake hit. If this city would
to be shaken down to rubble, I wanted to be here to feel it. The belief that adversity gives depth
to life, that we are better for having suffered together, sets the people I know in Los Angeles
apart (Lewis 8). This feeling she has highlights the change in perspective she has on her new
home. She went from being scared of the city she lived in to not wanting to be away when a life-
threatening earthquake occurs. She would rather be in Los Angeles as it was destroyed than to be
safe in another place. Her new feelings for the city were built upon her connection to the people
living around her. Because of the devastating and harrowing events that Lewis endured with the
people of Los Angeles she formed a close connection to the city and lost her previous
preconceptions of the city. Lewis recognizes that disaster and hardship are two things that can
bring people together and this is what she experiences. These events are examples of how Lewis
identity has changed and how now she has refashioned herself to living in L.A.
Now Lewis considers Los Angeles her true home and has adapted herself to accept L.A.
as part of her identity. She has greatly changed since she moved to Los Angeles when she
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disliked the city and did not feel as if she had any true connections to it. After her experiences
with disasters and chaos she finally has morphed her identity into something that exists perfectly
in Los Angeles. I cannot pinpoint the moment I started bragging about my latest tumble in a
robust wave or stopped worrying about whether my doors were locked when I drove down
Florence past Normandie, I know know for certain when I survey my Self that I have become an
Angeleno I am a walking cliche (Lewis 5-6). Lewis now realizes that she has changed
drastically and her identity now embodies a Angeleno. Although the residents of L.A. are very
diverse she is has adapted a stereotypical but genuine interpretation of an Angeleno. She admits
that she surfs and that she leaves her door unlocked which were things she originally thought she
would never do. She hated the stereotypical aspects of Los Angeles such as the beaches and was
afraid of the crime but she has drastically changed. Before she felt as if she did not belong in the
city but after the events that changed her identity she now considers the city of Los Angeles her
true home. Los Angeles is where life is being lived most vigorously in this country It gives
me a life in interesting times (Lewis 10). One of the things Lewis wanted but didn't know she
wanted was a life in interesting times. Los Angeles provided her aplenty with events that made
the city unique. She is now drawn to the city wanting to know what happens next in it but also
Overall, Judith Lewis story illustrates not only how she came to live in another city but
how she became the new person she is today. Lewis underwent a massive change to her identity
because of her experiences in Los Angeles through events that brought her closer to the people of
the city. Before moving to the city Lewis greatly disliked the city and did not want anything to
do with it. But after events such as the 1992 riots and the Northridge earthquake, Lewis bonded
with her fellow Angelenos in a sense of community. These events gave her a new perspective on
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the city and made her life more engrossing for her. All the events that happened in Los Angeles
affected her identity and changed her into the person she has now become. Los Angeles has
become her true home and has truly given her a life in interesting times.
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Works Cited
Lewis, Judith. Interesting Times. Another City, edited by David. L. Ulin, City Light Books,
Taylor, Alan. The Northridge Earthquake: 20 Years Ago Today The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2014.
Wilson, Stan. Rodney King Beatings and Riots. Youtube, uploaded by taritrott, 6 Mar. 2011,