The American Journey To California's Shores

At face value, the poem depicts the American journey which takes them all the way to California's shores, which is as far west as they can go. On a deeper level, the poem depicts the human lifespan. I, a child, very old...the circle almost circled (Whitman 3-4). Line three and four invite readers to take a look at the speaker's life: I, a child, very old meaning the speaker was once a child, but now he is an old man looking back at his life. The circle almost circled meaning that his time in this world is almost over. Line five to line eight meticulously explained how we, the human race, have been wandered everywhere, done everything, trying to give a meaning to our life. The speaker uses metaphors to point out a question that forever remained