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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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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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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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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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