Whitman broke the taboos about writing on sexuality. Although he was sexually frank in his poetry, he was strongly against whatever merely pornographical. He asserted, “No one would more rigidly keep in mind the difference between the simply erotic, the merely lascivious, and what is frank, free, modern, in sexual behavior, than I would: no one” (Reynolds, “Why I Write Cultural Biography: The Backgrounds of Walt Whitman’s America” 389). “Indeed, given the contemporary resistance to any published utterance that included sexual overtones, it is remarkable that Whitman was able to carry out his poetic project at all” (Mullins 164). He included a cluster of poems called “Enfans d’Adam” in 1860 edition of Leaves. It depicted sexual love between…
Hughes’, de Hoyos’, and Whitman’s poems show a message of American identity. In I, Too, Hughes explains that blacks are also proud to be Americans. “They’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed.” Hughes show no asham towards being “the darker brother”. In fact, he says that once people realize colored beauty than they will be assumed. He shows no shame in being an American. In the poem To Walt Whitman, Hoyos explains that Natives are American and that Whitman Shouldn’t exclude them. “My Native Amerindian race that I can’t seem to find in your poems.” Hoyos clearly is proud to be an American otherwise she wouldn’t have written that response to Whitman. Both Hoyos and Hughes ensured that Whitman knew they are a part of the American identity.…
Walt Whitman entails a man questioning his own existence, only to answer himself with a simple answer. It begins as a list of the negative parts of life. For example, he feels as if he is “forever reproaching [him]self” (3); this means that no matter what happens in his life, the speaker still disapproves, and he can never feel truly content in his actions. When Whitman is spelling out “the struggle ever renew’d” (5) in life, he uses a repetitive device to emphasize the multitude of hardships people face in their lifetimes. At the beginning of each idea, he uses the word “of.” For example, Whitman states “of eyes that vainly crave the light” (4) to state that one negative art of life is that some people desperately crave attention and praise…
Walt Whitman was a great american poet that wrote about the CIvil War and life in general. In 1886, at the young age of 17, he became a school teacher and later became a journalist just five years later. In 1855 Whitman made Leaves of Grass, his first step toward poetry. He wrote this book of twelve poems and published it himself. Walt Whitman made, edited, and published many great american poems, including O Captain! My Captain! and Song of Myself, that he often included his views about transcendentalism and realism.…
Speaking from your own life experience and observations, which writer least accurately represents what it means to be American? I would have to say it is Walt Whitman least accurately represents my life experiences in America. Why? Well in his poem “America” he talks of a “Centre of equal daughters, equal sons” (Whitman). There is nothing equal about America. There are those who have connections, networks of people, families of support that provide all with certain advantages or disadvantages. When I was in my late teens my mother worked for an eye doctor in Chicago. I needed a job so she told my mother to have me go and apply at the hospital were she was on staff. So…
In Walt Whitman’s poem, Song of Myself, I found different key pieces of Whitman’s diction and language to be more in depth and not so cut, black and white. This poem really makes you think by giving you different perspectives of life to wonder about through the use of his words. I have gotten the impression that Whitman really values himself and his beliefs of a good world and being alive in the present is worthwhile to him. His words are very powerful, thoughtful and even strong enough to change somebodies view of how they see the world. Whitman includes inspirational, yet erotic views of how he feels for his soul and the life around him.…
Walt Whitman is considered one of America’s greatest poets. During his lifetime, Whitman wrote hundreds of poems about life, love and democracy, among many others. In particular, Whitman’s poetry reflects the spirit of the age in which he lived, the Civil War. In taking a closer look at one of his most renowned and brilliant pieces, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, three particular themes are observed; his love for nature, the cycle of life, as represented by both life and death, and rebirth.…
Racism and discrimination often steps in between righteousness and justice, causing wrong to become right. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, A lawyer by the name of Atticus Finch is asked to defend a black man by the name of Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. She lives with her father Bob Ewell and several children near the dumps of Maycomb. The Ewells are often seen as savages. It doesn't make sense for Atticus to defend Tom Robinson, he should have not defended Tom.…
You ever wander how other people view America? People may view America differently than how you envision America. Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes are a great example of the different point of views of America. One poet believes America is a dream whilst the other doesn’t believe America is all it is cut out to be. So answer this one question, do you think America is a Dream?…
. the venerealee is invited, There shall be no difference between them and the rest (16).” The reader learns about his and Whitman’s journey of faith all the way through this poem. “We found our own O my soul in the calm and cool of the day-break (22).” He uses music and sound, to show us no judgment in life. Shut the mouth and know that we are all equal and that we are going through the same journey one way or another. Walt wants us to see him as the center of the entire universe, as the Savior, last hope, “My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, passing of blood and air through my lungs (1).” “The “I” does not have to protect his divinity by invisibility or threat of death, as the God of the Bible does,’ ‘And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live, 11 Exodus 33:20…
Perhaps, in the following essay I put a quart into a pint pot, because I intend to puzzle out, or rather, find and give a deeper insight into Walt Whitman's sexuality that is still a question on agenda. There are readers and critics who state that it is a shame to humble his poetry to this level, but I think that he was homosexual in his era the topic cannot be left untouched, because therefore this factor was very influential on his everyday life, thinking and hence on his poetry, too.…
The poem Walt Whitman’s “song of myself” made me remember a video I saw that talked about humans being the one speeches that are is the closes. This means humans are similar in DNA compared to other animal. With that being said it makes very little sense that we treat each other so differently and think that other are beneath us or not as human as us. Walt Whitman also talks about religion which is also an other similarity between many of us because many of our religions intertwine or shear a something in it so he made me realize that we all are kind of that same living the same life just in different was. We all need to be open minded and realize that we all aren’t actually that different and keep everyone I mind and try to do things that…
As much as I can't stand racism I'm willing to consider both sides of the issue. Throughout the book, many racist comments are said, but that is just his book it doesn't necessarily mean he is racist. Many factors could have been involved in why he wrote it like this. Perhaps Steinbeck was just trying to represent the era he was in. During the time when Steinbeck was living the civil war had passed but racism was still very alive as it is today. While it is still not okay, it was common and normalized during the era so it didn't seem as wrong as it is seen today. The evidence that says Steinbeck is racist, can really be looked on as proof of a personal aspect of Steinbeck or it can just be seen as words in a book.…
While at first glance Joyner Lucas’s “I’m Not Racist” may seem highly uncouth, it can truly offer refuge from the current political belligerence within America depending on how one interprets the song’s message. Political turmoil is running rampant in this day and age which has made it facile for many members of society to entrench themselves in their beliefs without considering another perspective, to turn an argument into a yelling match based on who can push their point hardest, and to generally be swept into the overwhelmingly dogmatic culture propagated by society. While “I’m Not Racist” isn’t a perfect song that can show bias at times, it is ultimately effective and does send a fairly positive message about understanding as well as acceptance…
Written in 1881 by Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”, is known to “represent the core of Whitman’s poetic vision” (Greenspan). To many people, this poem is confusing and complex because of the wordplay and symbolism. This poem “requires a large perspective; you must not get your face too near the book. You must bring to it a magnanimity of spirt, a charity and faith equal to its own.” (Burroughs) Whitman starts out by introducing the subject the poem, himself, and continues to celebrate this topic. He uses terms such as “I”, “myself” and his inner soul to create a sense of being and description in certain parts of the poem. Although the main theme seems to be himself, himself is actually a symbol for the American humanity as whole. Whitman believes that everyone, even animals, share each other’s experiences. For him, there is no single person that stands alone with their own thoughts and feelings. “No single person is the subject of Whitman’s song, or can be; the individual suggests a group, and the group a multitude, each a unit of which is as interesting as every other unit, and possesses equal claims to recognition. Hence the recurring tendency of his poems to become catalogues of person and things” (qtd. in Mason) Overall, he believes that everything and everyone shares an understanding and connection. Throughout “Song of Myself”, Walt Whitman connects himself with others by using his own identity as a symbol for the American people, making everyone equal in every sense of their being, and the form of friendship.…