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How Did Whitman Divided America

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The year is 1865, A country is divided by war and rage. The ideas of freedom and liberty are defended by the Union army and the ideals of slavery and inequality are fought for by the Confederate army. One country, one people, two sides, against one another. The United States, a country that was founded on the idea of freedom and equality for all, is now fighting to keep that same idea, only this time the enemy is itself. Many Americans during the 19th century were fighting either to keep slavery or see all as equal. It is difficult for a person nowadays to picture such a division but thanks to many writers, historians and storytellers we can gain a deeper understanding of what life was like then. People such like famous American poet Walt …show more content…

For example we were first kids then became teenagers all before we entered adulthood another example would be that before our education we were not wise. So in theory anyone we all have the opportunity to be who we aspire to be, regardless of our age and education. To put this in an historical context, we can argue that Whitman claimed this because of the racial and economical differences that divided the country. Many Americans during this time period believed in slavery and that black people were inferior because the color of their skin and education level, they believed it so much that there was a fake science created to degrade diminish the African-Americans. However many other Americans believed in freedom for all, despite their race, age, ethnicity or gender. Walt Whitman was one of these Americans, a humanitarian that believed in equality and freedom for all, he expressed this in Section 16; “I resist anything better than my own …show more content…

During the 19th century the American people did not have the technology to fully enjoy and take advantage of the landscape but the beautiful scenery was still there. “At home in the fleet of ice boats, sailing with the rest and tacking, at home in the hills of Vermont or in the woods of Maine, or in the Texan ranch, comrade of Californians, comrade of free North-Western, (loving their big proportions).” In this portion of the poem Walt depicts the natural diversity that makes up the geographical landscape that makes America so unique and

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In a war of this kind, the effectiveness of political leadership, the ability to mobilize economic resources, and a society’s willingness to keep up the fight despite setbacks are as crucial to the outcome as success or failure on individual battlefields” (Foner 521). This summary of the war shows that conflict was the only factor in the Civil War. the north and south would not agree on anything, and it created a major upset. Brothers would fight against brothers, houses would be divided, and America was at a sense of loss. If it wasn’t for the brave efforts of Abraham Lincoln and the Union, the

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As the world turns round and round, America stays the land of the free and in their patriotic poems, Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes show the greatness of the present and the potential of the future and equality of separate parties. WaltWhitman's poem was made circa 1860, just before the Civil War broke out over slavery. Langston Hughes poem “I, T oo, Sing America” was made in 1945, ten years before the CivilRights Movement

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He said work defines a person. In I Too Sing America Langston Hughes points out Whitman's ideal vision. In the poem he “says i'm the darker

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This poem expresses Whitman's love of America in this poem he again express the felling of be part of a nation , by singing ,but he based the poem in all the people who contribute to the life and culture of America , as the Mechanic ,the carpenter, the mason, the boatman, the shoemaker, and the woodcutter all this people felling proud and join singing the chore in other hand I thing he talk about the fact of being women having a different jobs in this time. This poem emphasizes the attitude toward America, which in Whitman opinion is part of the human. The American nation has based its faith on the labor

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One of those was that writer and reader should be seen as equal. He did not agree with the typical “hierarchical relationship” in which the author speaks separately from the people rather than for and with them (Erkkila 3). This would help with getting the public to hear his points and take them more personally while he pushed political boundaries and challenged people to think deeply. Walt Whitman’s father was born just after the American Revolution. He was a liberal thinker and he admired the work of Thomas Paine.

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Walt Whitman is an American poet. Being one of America’s greatest, most decorated poets, Whitman is considered America’s Poet. Whitman was born May 31, 1819. Whitman moves fairly constantly. Whitman being the iconic poet he is, Whitman also faced the struggles of America.

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Throughout his poem, he constantly talks about the importance of coming together and merging. Whitman says, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (Whitman 1). On the surface, this quote may appear to illustrate that Whitman thinks highly of himself, but it is more than this. The last part of this quote emphasizes that we are all connected and even though we are all individuals, we should not forget that we are connected to one another. Whitman also says, “Urge and urge and urge, Always the procreant urge of the world.

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Whitman also explored some darker themes, similar to the themes that Yates wrote about, which include isolation through the form of judgement. In ‘To the States’, a rather critical poem compared to Whitman’s previous works, he uses the personal pronoun of ‘I’ in ‘for I see that These States sleep’ (L6) to isolate himself from the rest of America. He criticises the government and attempts to ‘awaken’ the people to action through the use of rhetorical questions such as ‘Are those really Congressmen?’ (L5), which demand readerly participation and can also be used as a reflective device to show that he doubts the control of the government and perhaps thinks that they did not do their job properly so the rest of the people in America should also

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Among them was Whitman who would take a radical stand in affirming that American identity was complex from a country’s central principle of sovereignty and equality. This is

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Walt Whitman is America’s poet to the world. He is seen by most people as one of the most significant poets of the 19th century. He has been published in many languages and his work is known and studied world wide. One of the first literary reviews of Whitman came from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson praised Whitman and said that Leaves of Grass was one of the most unique pieces of literature to come from America. Whitman’s poetry is written in free verse for the most part.

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Whitman in his political life was a democrat. In his poetry he believed in democracy and equality of all members of the society. His definition of democracy can be summarized as “the perfect equality of all people” (Oliver 67). America failed to live up to its ideal of equality; Whitman believed in the central role of the poets in a democratic society. “Of all mankind the great poet is the equable man.

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Walt Whitman uses his poems to demonstrate gender equality by addressing the male and female forms as equals. After describing himself as a universal poet, of both “the woman the same as the man.” Whitman says that it is, “As great to be a woman as it is to be a man”(Whitman 24). During his lifetime, women were viewed as inferior to men; they did not have voting rights, and “contained fewer multitudes economically, intellectually, and psychologically” (Pollak 108). Whitman, on the contrary, expresses his respect for women as equals to men, and does not view one above the other.

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The video “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman” was an audio track of a man reciting the poem, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” accompanied with scenic photos cued alongside the voice of the man. I enjoyed reading and hearing the poem and I do like it, because it makes me feel like I am a part of a greater purpose. Listening to the poem made me feel nostalgic of the times that I would spend with my siblings, where we would band together and perform a task purely for the joy it brought to our own hearts. Yet, this poem also makes me feel hopeful, particularly for a future where I aspire to contribute relief to the lives of others. The writer’s description of the landscape stretching beyond him, and acknowledgment of how the steps he took would

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Whitman uses transcendentalist ideas throughout his collection “Song of Myself”. Often many times transcendentalism pertains to the idea of how it is dealt with having god in each living thing. “Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,” (Whitman #1). In this quote it is trying to show how the same generations are living in a certain area which can prove the point in how god is in each individual. Another big part of Whitman’s work is nature in which it's a majority of transcendentalism.

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Whitman 's idea of equality is so strong that he even devotes the very first lines of Song of Myself to it. He

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