Introduction What makes an individual an American is a question that has been asked time and again in many literatures. Some become Americans by birth, nationalization and other methods. However, there is still a question that has yet to be asked, would sharing the same vision and dream for America make one an American whether or not they live in America? In this research paper, the learner attends to this question by taking a keen look at the utopian vision of America through the eyes of Walt Whitman. Background Walt Whitman was a former clerk who was serving at the United States Department of Interior . Walt Whitman is renowned and a force to reckon with as far as political literature is concerned. He was a zealous person and a fighter for equality and justice for all. Walt Whitman is noted to have even asserted that he would not accept anything for which there might be lesser treatment or portion offered to another person especially on discriminatory grounds . But then, what is this Utopian Vision for America? In the succeeding sections, there will be concentration on three major areas that Walt Whitman concentrated on. a) Democracy According to Griesinger, it is noted that Walt Whitman advocated strongly for democracy in totality . It is noted that at that time, there was an increase in dehumanizing conditions especially on Black Americans. For example, during a sports tournament, it is noted that at the end of that match, Walt Whitman noted that the American space has become more of a ritualized space where few people really enjoyed the happenings while most of the other spectators were just there to pass time and their presence was more of mandatory than voluntary . It is also noted that those who wrote on American ... ... middle of paper ... ... was much advocacy, little has changed in the political arena. Works Cited Boles, John. "James Rorty's Social Ecology." Organization & Environment 11.2 (1998): 155-79. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. The Geographical Imagination in Whitman and Dickinson: Manifest Destiny and Expansion in the Americas. 2011 Griesinger, Emily. The Gift of Story; Narrating Hope in a Postmodern World. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2006. Print. Lehmann, Christopher. "Why Americans can't Write Political Fiction." The Washington Monthly 2005: 40-7. ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 2 Dec. 2011 . Reynolds, David, S. Walt Whitman’s America: A Cultural Biography (New York: Knopf, 1995), 136. Ye, Y. Whitman and His Utopian Vision of Racial Reconciliation, Penn State University Harrisburg American Studies, 2010.
American Bards: Walt Whitman and Other Unlikely Candidates for National Poet. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2010. Print.
Adler-Kassner, Lisa. “Taking Action to Change Stories.” The Activist WPA: Changing Stories about Writing and Writers. Logan, UT: Utah State, 2008.
Let America Be America Again! Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 4th ed. of the book. Eds.
Throughout the span of this semester, much of the literature discussed revolved around the so-called renaissance of American literature and its impact upon both the nation and its people. Of all the authors studied in this time period, Walt Whitman may well be known as the quintessential American author. Famous for breaking every rule known to poetry in the inimitable compilation, Song of Myself, Whitman provided a fresh and insightful commentary upon the dualistic nature of society, love, and life itself. Through defining these essential aspects of humanity, Whitman indeed composed one of the most accurate and enduring definitions of the individual self that literature, American or otherwise, has ever seen. Specifically, this was done through
Walt Whitman's dream is a dream that this country knows all to well. It was once a reality and is something that we miss. I hope that one day we will not have to dream about it, with a bit of luck it will become a reality. One day the world will know about the peace that Walt dreamed. This country will unite, the world will unite and love will reign over all and lead us home to happiness. I believe on a clear day if you lay in leaves of grass and close your eyes this dream will come true.
Poet and journalist Walt Whitman was born May 31, 1819, in West Hills, New York. He is known to be particularly one of America’s most influential poets. Whitman aimed to transcend traditional heroic poems and demonstrate nature of the American experience and his style reflects his distinctiveness. In Walt Whitman’s excerpt #46 of “Song of Myself,” the theme of celebrating yourself in all your faults and glory along with showing that no one else can travel the road for you, you have to do it yourself is shown with the use of literary and sound devices. Walt Whitman isn’t worried about what else is in the universe. He can’t be dignified. His journey will go on forever and all he needs is a good raincoat and a pair of shoes. He does not want to be anyone’s teacher or professor, he just wants to show you the world. At the same time, all he can do is show you the road, you have to walk down it. If you get tired, he’ll support you. Even if he see’s the entire world and universe, he’d still want to travel beyond further and see more things. He reiterates the non conformist system of belief,...
Whitman’s poem was written in the mid-1800s during the industrial revolution, but Hughes’ poem was written in the 1900s during the Civil Rights Movement. This is important because the Civil Rights Movement established the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Industrial Revolution moved at a slow place but there were still issues with slavery. Whitman’s poem was free verse while Hughes’ poem was traditional rhyme/rhythm. The tone of Whitman’s poem was patriotic and celebratory (I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear); because he was paying tribute to the success of the individuals; however, the tone of Hughes’ poem was sarcastic and frustrated (to build a “homeland of the free,’’ because he didn’t feel like some individuals were allowed to experience the American Dream. Whitman’s theme of his poem was that individuals and liberties make America great. On the other hand, Hughes’ theme of his poem expressed that individuals felt excluded from the “homeland of the free.” The purpose of Whitman’s poem is praise for universal brotherhood. However, Hughes’ poem’s purpose was to inform individuals about inequality, meaning that not everyone has the same liberties in America. Whitman’s poem focused on the jobs of the workers, while Hughes’ poem focused on race, social status, and a list to represent the “I am’’ phrase; (I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars). He also
Poetry is a universe of subjectivity. When two poems are set up, side-by-side, to create discussion, results may vary. But it is clear in Sherman Alexie’s two poems, “Defending Walt Whitman” and “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel”, where the discussion must go. Alexie explores Native American culture and the effect that the Europeans have had on the native people of the United States. This feat is accomplished through the thoughtful use of several literary devices, including tone, simile, allusion, and metaphor.
The equality of all humans is still a topic that is discussed today in the United States. In the eighteenth century the equality of some humans was a topic that the privileged populace tended to ignore. During this time period a very select group of humans were allocated full rights, this group consisted of white male property owners. Neither women nor African Americans had full rights during this time period. Women would not gain the right to vote until 1920 and the African Americans until 1869, but even then they did not reap the rights that white men possessed(History.com Staff; ACLU Staff) . As you might imagine, white men during the eighteenth century were not keen to distribute equality to those that they thought were below them. Though this did not apply to all white men of the time. A man by the name, Walt Whitman, went against these societal beliefs and desired for an equality for all.
Stedman, Edmund Clarence. "An Important American Critic Views Whitman." Critical Essays on Walt Whitman. Ed. James Woodress. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1983. 116-127.
Before Walt Whitman was ever a writer, he was a teacher. He was a teacher who was highly admired by his students. He tended to use methods that were nontraditional, and therefore were typically frowned upon by parents and other adults. However, this did not stop Whitman from expressing himself, and allowing Others to do the same, through his teaching.
Savu, Laura. “The Crooked Business of Storytelling”. Ariel. Summer 2005 36. 3-4 Gale Cengage Learning. Thomson Gale. Webster Schroeder Library, Webster, NY. 31 January 2014.
Walt Whitman was arguable one of the most influential poets during the Civil War era. Though never directly involved in war, Whitman was able to talk about the war in a more insightful way than many poets at the time could. Whitman was most active in writing during the times before and after the war, choosing to dedicate himself to helping wounded soldiers during the war instead. Walt Whitman’s poetry reflects the progression of his philosophy of America: his initial view of America was uplifting, represented in his Pre-Civil war poems and while the Civil War poetry presents the degradation of American society, Whitman’s final poetry returns to a realistic, optimistic view for America.
He constantly amazes people with his works even to this day, for it is poets, authors, and even kids who are in school, who see his name credited for some of the world’s best novels. The style Walt used, a very uncommon impacting style, is now commonly used by others, for he was a very unique and influential person. Whitman took in all the knowledge and experience from elders when he was writing at a younger age, and he stored that into his memory, to later pass it on to other young writers throughout the decades and
He crossed the boundaries of the poetry literature and gave a poetry worth of our democracy that contributed to an immense variety of people, nationalities, races. Whitman’s self-published Leaves of Grass was inspired in part by his travels through the American frontier and by his admiration for Ralph Waldo Emerson (Poetry Foundation). He always believed in everyone being treated equally and bringing an end to slavery and racism. Through his poetry, Whitman tried to bring every people in America together by showing them what happiness, love, unison, and real knowledge looked. His poetry and its revolution changed the world of American literature