I Saw In Louia A Live Oak Growing Analysis

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

authors’ writings as well as how each dealt with these opinions. Dickinson kept to solitude and away from the majority, Douglas tried to change peoples’ opinions by being an example, and Whitman tried to get people to follow his way of thinking.
Dickinson was consistently acting as a nonconformist through her actions and her writing. Seeing as many of her poems were not shared with the public until after her death, it was her actions that cause the majority to view her differently. Dickinson rebelled against the norm primarily by not going to church, which was socially strange during her time. She shows her rejection of traditional church best through her poems numbered 508 and 324. In her poem numbered 508, Dickinson rejects her baptism by the church saying, “I'm ceded—I've stopped being Theirs—/ The name They dropped upon my face/ With water, in the country church/ Is finished using, now,” (Dickinson 508). This is just one of the many poems that Dickinson wrote that showed her rejecting the traditional church for that of the “church of nature”. In Dickinson’s poem 324, she further explains her rejection of the traditional church by saying, “Some keep the Sabbath going to church/ I keep it staying at home/ With a bobolink for a chorister/ and an orchard for a dome,” (Dickinson 324). In both of these poems, Dickinson shows herself being a nonconformist and gives one of the reasons why the majority would be against her.
Douglas showed his nonconformity through his autobiography about his life in slavery. By teaching himself to read and write and sharing this knowledge with the other slaves, Douglas pinned himself as a rebel and a troublemaker among the slave-owners. This was not Douglas’s only way of acting against the norm; Douglas also promoted standing up for oneself and went against his masters numerous times. When Douglas talked about what made him different from the other slaves, he said:
I have found that, to make a contented slave, it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision, and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right; and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man (Douglas 85).
Douglas was a strong advocate of free-thinking and wanted to teach the other slaves how to read and write so they too could form their own informed opinions about the situation they were in. This is what made Douglas a nonconformist of his time.
Whitman showed his nonconformity through his poems and difference in opinions. Whitman was also a strong advocate of self-thought and went as far pushing away schools and creeds of education saying that people should learn mainly through observations of the world. Whitman received criticism by the majority because of his ideas of celebrating one’s self and learning through and imitating nature. In his poem “Song of the Open Road”, he presents his views on being self-reliant by saying, “Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road/ Healthy, free, the world before me/ The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose,” (Whitman “Song of the Open Road”). Whitman tried to promote choosing your own way compared to the way that others took. It was Whitman’s self-reliance in nature that caused his to differ from the majority.
Dickinson embraced her difference from society in solitude. In her poem “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” she expresses her want to be separate from the masses by saying, “I’m Nobody! Who are you?/ Are you – Nobody – too?/ Then there’s a pair of us!/ Don’t tell! they’d advertise – you know!/ How dreary – to be – Somebody!/ How public – like a Frog –/ To tell one’s name – the livelong June –/ To an admiring Bog!” (Dickinson “I’m Nobody”). Many of Dickinson’s poems express this sense of solitude and finding yourself in nature, and this is where Dickinson found her self-reliance. She embraced nature as a way to connect with God and used examples she found in the natural world to help her understand more about herself.
Douglas differed from Dickinson because he wanted to embrace the masses and help the slaves become more self-reliant themselves. He did this by setting up multiple Sabbath schools throughout his time in slavery with the goal being to teach the slaves to read and write. We can also see Douglas’s want of companionship when he was planning his escape from slavery. He wanted to bring as many of his fellow slaves with him as he could, but ultimately his plans were shut down and he had to make his escape on his own. Douglas also had aspects of solitude self-reliance as well. He talks about how his determination to make himself free and his work and what he did for himself by himself is what made him a free man. He talks about his wanting to read and finding ways and people to teach him led him to think for himself. He also talks about how he stood up for himself against his slave-masters and made his situation better for himself and how he worked hard to get good at his job as a caulker to use those skills to support himself once he was free.
Unlike Dickinson, Whitman wanted people to join him in his self-reliance and nonconformity. Many of his poems reference numerous amounts of people with him asking them to join him. This could have been because he was outcast by the people for his differing views and was trying to pull people in towards his opinions, just like how Douglas wanted to draw in people towards the cause against slavery. Whitman’s writing shows that he found his inner-self in the masses and used what he saw about other people to help define himself. In his poem “A Sight in Camp”, Whitman uses what he sees in the dead bodies around a hospital tent to help him see inside himself. He does this when he says, “Young man, I think I know you—I think this face of yours is the face of the Christ himself/ Dead and divine, and brother of all, and here again he lies” (Whitman, “Sight in Camp”). Whitman uses what he sees in the face of the dead man to learn more and see Christ in himself.
Due to the views and out-casting of the people, all of these authors face the theme of Free Mind, Tortured Body, similar to Thoreau’s experience in his night in prison. Dickinson displayed this theme best in her poem numbered 384. In this poem, she talks about her freedom of mind by saying “No Rack can torture me --/ My Soul – at Liberty --,” (Dickinson 384). She states that her mind would be free even if her body would not be just as Thoreau said his mind was free even though his body was thrown into prison. Dickinson seemed almost to lock herself away in a prison of her own design when she stayed at home, but her ideas still made their way into the public. Dickinson also touches on this topic in her poem numbered 754 by stating, “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun --/ In Corners – till a Day/ The Owner passed – identified --/ And carried Me away,” (Dickinson 754). Dickinson relates herself to a gun which is unable to more without the will of someone else, just as she feels that she is trapped in the corners of society until others come and join her way of thinking.
Douglas displayed the theme of Free Mind, Tortured Body in a more general and literal sense throughout his autobiography. His freethinking and opinions were spread throughout his slave communities even though his body was chained in slavery. By trying to teach other slaves to read and write, Douglas tried to get more people think for themselves even if their slave-masters tortured them for doing this. Douglas also showed this theme after he was free. He was being judged based on his race, but he still tried to get people to form their own opinions on slavery.
Whitman treated this theme in a different way.

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

way.
All of these authors experienced some ridicule from the majority because of their nonconformity and each handled these negative opinions in their own way. Dickinson’s form of nonconformity led itself nicely to her opinions on solitude; Douglas used his nonconformity to help spread his message that slaves could be just as capable and smart as whites while focusing on the theme of Free Mind, Tortured Body in the most literal sense; and Whitman’s style of nonconformity set him up for hardships because of his want for companionship. These writers were able to spread their ideas of freethinking and forming ones own opinions in different ways and during different times, but shared some important components in their writing.