Cole Teeter
Ms. Mathes
English 11-3
9 February 2023
Wild Whitman’s Poem
In the poem “A child said, what is the Grass?” by Walt Whitman, the poem tells a story about how the character is caught between life and death. The character Whitman uses begins to understand and accept the ideas and topics presented. Whitman’s key tones presented in his poem are confused/confusing, understanding, and acceptance. The story discusses a confused character about life, death, and nature. He expresses his feeling throughout the poem, starting very confused but finally understanding why these things happen, and later expresses his acceptance towards it. In this poem, Whitman generates a confusing tone toward life and death, which later shifts to understanding
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The phrase “I guess….” A confusing technique can interpret this. “I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful / green stuff woven” (5-6). With this quote, his tone as a character seems confused with questions. As a character, he begins questioning many things he used to know. The confused tone helps readers understand that he does not fully grasp the meaning of life and death. “Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic /, and it means sprouting alike in broad zones and marrow / zones, / Growing among black folk as among white, / Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressmen, Cluff, I give them the / same, I receive them the same.” (13-18) This quote also shows how confused the character is at the poem’s …show more content…
In the very last segment of the poem, “All goes onward and outward… and nothing collapse / and to die is different from what anyone supposed and / luckier.” (45-47) Whitman’character that he chose finally shows how he has accepted death as a part of life. Accepting that death is a part of everyone’s life is one of the worst and most extraordinary things that a person can be willing to be at peace with death. The worst part about accepting death is that every single individual will die. The best part is that each individual has the motive to get up in the morning and complete goals. “What do you think has become of the women and / children.” (38-39) The character accepts this idea of the quote but still has questions. Everyone has questions about topics they do not fully understand. It takes time and knowledge to grasp the ideas