Chock Full O Nuts And The Newsstand example essay topic

An omen is described by Webster as being "a thing or happening supposed to foretell a future event, either good or evil". There were three omens described by Cynthia Ozick in her essay entitled "Washington Square, 1946". These omens possibly foreshadowed her career, especially since she remembered them to put them in the essay. The pretzel man and his cart, Chock Full o' Nuts, and the newsstand all had such a dramatic effect on her life that she would not be the person she is today without them.

The faceless pretzel man has a cart with pretzel holders made out of cardboard. The pretzel man is stationed right outside the park where the kids spend their time studying. He becomes a central figure for them because he is their source of food during studying time. He becomes the guardian of her place of great inspiration as a writer. He is hailed as a king by some students. His cardboard pretzel holders are sought by many as temples of relief because it holds the key to their brain food.

Chock Full o' Nuts is thriving today because the commons is not opened. This marketplace is a new and upcoming establishment that is seen by the students and the townspeople as the place to be. It is much more attractive to eat there then in the college run Commons. The Commons is referred to as overcrowded with veterans mingling with the youth. She is like Chock Full o' Nuts because she is going to become an up and coming writer. She will be seen as the trendsetting idea in the writing community soon and will be sought after by all.

The third and final omen is the newsstand in which she is very unfamiliar with the contents of this particular place. As she heads into the open aired business she does not recognize any of the authors that display their works here. These famous authors are an omen because she will eventually become an omen herself and some other aspiring author won't recognize her name someday in a newsstand. These authors will become the inspiration and the goal of her work because they all accomplished fame during their lifetime and not posthumous. This place also will become a place where she spends time filling her mind with creative ideas on topics to write about. She will eventually be skipping class to sit in the shop and mingle with the regulars.

This place will eventually wake her up to the idea of becoming a writer. She does not understand what the author portrays in some of the works she reads, but she begins to become with intrigued with the way they portray the words on paper. These omens end up shaping Cynthia Ozick's career. She spends the most of her time at New York University at Washington Square where these omens are located at. They shape the way she thinks and acts while she attends the university. She does not seem to connect back at the center of the university but in this section of the town.

She becomes familiar with the surroundings and the fact that a couple prominent authors live right down the street. Cynthia finds her niche while spending time at Washington Square. The omens shape her future because she connects with everything around her on the block.