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.
Adler-Kassner, Lisa. “Taking Action to Change Stories.” The Activist WPA: Changing Stories about Writing and Writers. Logan, UT: Utah State, 2008.
American Bards: Walt Whitman and Other Unlikely Candidates for National Poet. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 2010. Print.
Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes were two great of America’s poets who believed in the American Dream. The American Dream was the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The American Dream meant everything to Whitman and Hughes during that time. Whitman’s poem was titled “I Hear America Singing’’ and Hughes poem was titled “Let America Be America Again.’’ Although Whitman and Hughes agreed that America was the land of opportunity, they had very different perspectives on who had achieved liberty and success.
Whitman’s beliefs on human equality are most commonly viewed in his writings, such as Leaves of Grass. His display does not stop there though, he also broadcasted it through his everyday life. Through these outlets he expressed his belief that humans, despite their race, gender and sexuality, were all equal and valuable to the society.
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 beginning of the process of perversion starts with an idea. It’s that first moment when a person starts to think doing something you consider as bad or something that goes against society’s views of right and wrong. In the Imp of the Perverse, that moment is when he (the character) considers confessing the murder out loud in public. However, in The Cask of Amontillado, Montresor contemplates on whether to enact revenge on Fortunato.
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,...
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
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 is considered the foremost poet of American democracy of his time. Not only did he fully embrace it, but he believed that American democracy was more than a political system, but a way of life (Casale 48). Many of his personal experiences influenced his deep democratic point of view (48). As a volunteer at an army hospital during the American Civil War, he saw many die and became increasingly grateful for the opportunities provided by the American government (Mirsky). Later, as he was residing in New York City, Whitman witnessed America face urbanization. He loved the diversity of the cities and believed it was possible because of democracy (Brand). This adoration of democracy is apparent in many of Whitman’s works, such as “Drum-Taps”
Walt Whitman is arguably America’s most influential poet in history. Born Walter Whitman in May 31st, 1819 to Walter Whitman and Louisa van Velsor, he was immediately nicknamed ‘Walt’ to distinguish him from his father. He came to life in West Hills on the famous Long Island, the second of nine children that grew up in Brooklyn. He came to be fondly known as ‘the Bard of Democracy’, mainly because that was a main message in his work. He is also celebrated as ‘the father of the free verse’. He was a liberal thinker and was vehemently against slavery, although later on he was against the abolitionists because, according to him, they were anti-democracy. He managed to marry transcendentalism with realism in his works. His occupation was a printer school teacher and editor.
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