Song Of Myself By Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman has a perspective of America that can distribute a goal or even an idea to people. And that is the equality of men in the nation. People should be treated and passionate among each other and not have hatred amongst themselves. America is a place where everyone should be accepted: no matter what race or nationality a person is. Everyone should feel loved around others and form together to become a union. In America, all men are created equal, as stated in the US Constitution. With that being said, Whitman takes this statement to heart and puts it into his poem to describe how strong it is to him. In section 6 of ‘’Song of Myself’’, he describes grass as “a uniform hieroglyphic”, which represents the equality of everyone in the nation (Whitman).
Throughout the section, Whitman speaks about grass and how it is the symbol of unity to America because it grows everywhere, and because everyone is surrounded by it. Whitman wanted to use the analogy of the grass and of how it describes America and its equality to citizens.
Life is another topic Whitman confesses in ‘’Song of Myself’’. Life is described in his poem as a peace-offering to everyone in America and how it’s something that we should cherish it always. America is surround by life in many different ways. For instance, Whitman describes the grass around America “a uniform hieroglyphic” and that it grows all day, everyday (Whitman). Whitman also relates grass as a “scented gift/the flag of my disposition/handerkerchief of the Lord” (Whitman). Grass is another form of life and humanity and that it has meaning inside America. Another example about how Whitman uses life as a symbol in his poem is when he talks about his soul. He invites his soul to reach out to the peace that his brought to the world. This peace that is embedded inside the poem is an assurance of the Lord and how he brings forth everyone and accepts them in ways as brothers and sisters to him.
Whitman shows great passion towards America in ‘’Song of Myself’’. That passion burns stronger from one stanza to the next as the poem continues. During his time, the passion he shows, turns into hatred when battles takes place in said history. American history is surrounded by battles and deaths that are imprinted into the minds of Americans. It brings out the destruction and separation into not just the nation, but the whole world also. Whitman explains that “[he] launch[es] all men and women forward with [him] into the Unknown” (Whitman). The imagery inside the quote is that the Unknown is the battlefield and that the men and women are heading forth to a great battle. The importance of a battle/war for America is the freedom and liberty behind it all and not just the thrill of it. It’s what’s makes the battle worth fighting for. Rather if we win or lose, the battle is significant to the citizens of America and the nation itself.
Freedom is one of the most sacred things America values as stated in Whitman’s poem.
America is known for their freedom and flexibility of accepting anyone in the world to live amongst its land. The Bill of Rights is a great example of said freedom. The 1st Amendment talks about the five freedoms America has in its society and how they affect the citizens in all sorts of ways. For instance, freedom of speech describes how citizens has the right to speak out their own opinion about a situation rather than letting it get worse overtime. In Whitman's logic, if one has freedom, then they are able to do whatever they wish with it. Rather if they want to count grass or even cut it all down, Whitman says that anything a person wants to do is completely suitable: “I loafe and invite my soul, / I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass” (Whitman). It brings viewers to compensate an engaging debate of one’s freedom that can be on the higher or lower levels of happiness. Whitman sees freedom as a one-sided discussion and that his position is that “there are no “higher” and “lower” distinctions, but rather simply freedom” (Kannan). This is a strong disputable subject that takes place in Whitman’s
poem.