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Who Is The Self In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

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From the very beginning of Walt Whitman’s poem Song of Myself, it is apparent that he is giving the reader a sort of stream of self-presentations by stating, “I celebrate myself, and sing myself… For whatever atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (Whitman 24). With these lines being said it can be seen that Whitman views himself as having a type of connection with the person who reads him as well as indicating that he is rejoicing in who he is and is someone that is proud of who he is and the life that he lives. . Whitman also seems to give a sense of viewing humanity equally by stating, “For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (Whitman 24), thus indicating that he believes everyone is born equally in a sense. Furthermore, it is apparent that Whitman is not only presenting himself, but is also referring to himself as being one with the world or nature by stating, “I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked” (Whitman …show more content…

Essentially, the poem expresses Whitman’s feelings and emotions of sorrow, pain, and loss towards Lincoln while asserting that it is natural to mourn for someone who he viewed as a deceased hero. Vivid imagery is used throughout the majority of this poem in order to indicate Whitman’s feeling of sorrow towards Lincoln by stating “When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d… I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring” (Whitman 79), thus indicating that as Lincoln fell from power and died, Whitman mourned and continues to mourn every spring as he sees blooming lilacs and the falling star. Based on the poems use of symbolism it can also be assumed that Whitman had feelings of fondness and admiration towards Lincoln by indirectly referring to Lincoln as the “great star,” which is seen a source of light, similarly to how Lincoln was seen

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Additionally- like Dickinson, Whitman uses vivid imagery, such as “The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,” to paint various pictures—whether it be the background of a scene or a feeling his encountering—in a clear, compelling, and creative way. The author’s use of detailed verbiage and robust wording acts to make the reader imagine his thoughts artistically and

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Buddy Reedy English l l l Mrs. Way Period 7 Buddy Reedy’s Essay over Walt Whitman’s Life Walt Whitman lived a life full of change. He often wrote about it through his poems during the Civil war era about how he opposed slavery and would like them to be free, and a huge inspiration for his poems was Abe Lincoln and the idea of reuniting the South with the North again and also how he helped the wounded soldiers at a hospital in the Union Capital in The United States. Walt Whitman was born in West Hills, New York on May 31 1819. He was the second child out of eight siblings. His father's name was Walter Whitman and his mother's name was Lousia Van Velser Whitman.

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The poem continues with the next line that states, “Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)” (3). Whitman is talking about how he is not faithful or smart enough to judge other people for their flaws. The next line states “Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,” (4) This line means that people selfishly seek out worldly possessions and that this occurrence seems to be a never-ending cycle in the world. The next line states “Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,” (5) Whitman is saying that he sees countless people and yet, they are each boring or immoral and have nothing to show for their life.

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All the new technologies affected the solders one way or another, for instance, the trenches, solders would see the enemy 's coming yes but, also they had to sustain living in mud & filth, littered dead soldiers, and constant fear of attack. Soldiers that survived suffered from psychological problems. Also, poison gas, the gas caused severe problem.

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Josef Mengele was a Nazi SS doctor notorious for his gruesome experiments conducted on Jewish and Roma inmates, including those involving twins in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland. Before WW2, Josef Mengele was an assistant to a well-known researcher, Dr. Otmar von Verschuer, who studied twins. When the war started, Mengele relocated to Auschwitz where he had access to an unlimited supply of twins and the authority to maim and kill subjects without consequence (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum). Initially, Josef Mengele was not necessarily feared by children he experimented on. He was often known to appear with pockets full of candy and chocolates, to pat them on the head, to talk with them, and sometimes even to play with the kids(Rosenberg).

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On a bright Sunday morning, accompanied by her mother and grandmother, a young girl lounges in the pew of a church when a missal catches her eye, and she begins to flip through the pages revealing the compilation of the religious texts. As this young girl grows older and presumably pursues a higher education, she will begin studying texts of the same complexity of those contained in the missal, which will challenge traditional beliefs and contrast religious literature with literature that happens to contain religious themes. When analyzing these pieces of work, the girl will propose many questions that readers prior may have considered at an earlier time. In American literature, specifically through the examples of "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman and Lorraine Hansberry 's A Raisin the Sun, religion, once thought of as a unification of all people, paradoxically acts as a source of the development of an identity, rebellion from a community, and a factor of discrimination.

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In the two poems the reader can see many examples of figurative language. In the poem, “I Hear America Singing,” Whitman

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By doing this Whitman introduces himself and at the same time identifies with the reader. He also states that he should be celebrated not only by himself, but also by the reader because they are the same. He also gives off a feeling that his writing is true and good, we get the feeling he is one of us and at the same time a poet. This leads to comparing Whitman with a preacher or public speaker of some sort, he wishes to be

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Whereas Emerson believes the self strictly exists in your soul, Whitman believes that sense of self is found in both your soul and your body. Whitman sees your soul and body as a point of connection and that you cannot have one without the other and that the two are equal. For instance, Whitman says, “I have said that the soul is not more than the body, And I have said that that body is not more than the soul, And nothing, not God is greater to one than one’s-self is” (Whitman 51). Whitman is illustrating that the soul and the body are equal to one another and that one is not more important than the other.

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He says that “The spirit of God is the brother of my own,” meaning that God, the divine creator, the person who stresses, ‘Love thy neighbor,” is his brother, and all people’s brother which indirectly suggests that everyone love each other and take care of each other because we are family. Whitman then goes on, saying that while America is great, life is not perfect, as everyone face challenges and tough times in our lives, “It is not upon you alone the dark patches fall/ The dark threw its patches down upon me also,” (Whitman 12). He discusses the fact that while America is an ideal society where people love each other, life is not so perfect, as the hardships we face are difficult to overcome.

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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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One way that Whitman conveys his poetry is through the eyes of the everyday man. In this period of American history, the civil war was ongoing, and his poetry did not shy away from the everyday

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It is common for a person to admire the stars in the sky. Their brightness and arrangement is a fascinating sight, of course. On the other hand, people tend to forget or plainly ignore what is right under their feet. In “Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman focused on what he thought was truly important, details of the green grass. Whitman wrote, “I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars” (663).

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Whitman encourages readers to break down the social barrier artificially imposed by society on genders allowing him to relate to both men and

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In this grand poem, Whitman glorifies the unity of all people and life. He embraces the geographical diversity as well as the diversity of culture, work, as well as sexuality or beliefs. Whitman’s influence sets American dreams of freedom, independence, and self-fulfillment, and changes them for larger spiritual meaning. Whitman appreciates hard work as well as being simple and non-egotistical. His major ideas are things such as soul, good health, as well as the love of nature.

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