I Saw In Louia A Live Oak Growing Analysis

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Throughout the early years of America, many new types and styles of writing started to appear. Among these styles, the ideas of Transcendentalism and self-reliance were prominent themes. Some of the main figures of Transcendentalism and self-reliance were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Both of these men promoted free-thinking through their work and actions and set a path that many after would follow. Among those who followed in their footsteps were Fredrick Douglas, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman. All of these influential writers followed a theme throughout their writings that is best summarized by a quote from Emerson, “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” Douglas acted as a nonconformist by rebelling against his masters and teaching himself to read and write, Dickinson by rejecting traditional religious acts such as going to church and baptisms, and Whitman through his promotion of national identity. For their nonconformity, the majority viewed these fine writers as odd and strange; these views can be seen through each of the …show more content…

His body was not tortured or put through hardships, but he was more tortured by being outcast due to his self-reliant ideas. This was torture to him because his way of learning was from observing others. In his poem “I Saw in Louisiana A Live-Oak Growing”, Whitman writes about seeing a tree growing by itself without any others nearby. Whitman starts by writing, “I saw in Louisiana a live-oak growing/ All alone stood it and the moss hung down from the branches/ Without ant companion it grew there uttering joyous leaves of dark green” and continues on to say, “Uttering joyous leaves all its life without a friend a lover near/ I know very well I could not” (Whitman, “I Saw in Louisiana”). Whitman shows that he desires and needs the company of others through his writing, so separating him from society because of thoughts and opinions was like torture to him in its own

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