Carl Sandburg's Poem 'Chicago'

Sandburg wrote his poem ‘Chicago’ in 1914. The city of Chicago itself was first established in 1833, meaning it was only about 70 years old. In 1971, a fire destroyed the entire Central Business District. The years following were a slow and grueling recovery, but eventually Chicago became a “Dominant Midwestern center for manufacturing, commerce, finance, higher education, religion, broadcasting, sports and jazz….”( Source 1). In ‘ Chicago’, Sandburg describes Chicago as a young man. His reference for the age of Chicago was the major cities at the time, London, Paris, and Tokyo, which coincidentally have all been around for a long time. Sandburg’s metaphorical comparison of Chicago and a young man, shows how Chicago, a city of millions, can still have the same characteristics of an immature young man. While, both Chicago and a young man are beautiful and full of life, both also have many flaws.

Many of Carl Sandburg’s words describe the daily routine of life within Chicago as “Stormy, Husky, and Brawling”(Line 5). Proceeding his many descriptions of Chicago itself, Sandburg addresses those who dislike Chicago’s overall atmosphere( Critics as it were). He admits that Chicago is “ Wicked,” “Cruel” and “Brutal”(Throughout Poem). Sandburg admits that in ways the critics are correct in that, Chicago has many problems such as Prostitution, Murder, Hunger, and most of all a sub- standard legal system. Sandburg shows in his words, “ Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again” ( Lines 10-12), that the legal system within Chicago is not entirely foolproof. In retrospect, any major cities’ legal system is not perfect. However, Sandburg shows that the sub par legal system of Chicago does not make it a bad