Walt speaks with an "I" but this is more universal and means everyone as apposed to just what Walt thinks. He speaks about how everyone is connected and that the land he is from is where his ancestors also come from. He speaks about his closeness with nature and how having his five senses is something so fabulous to him. When the child appears with a hand full of leaves and asks the writer what is the grass the writer is stumped. Unable to answer the child, he continues to think about what the grass is. He later talks about how lucky he is to die just as much to live because he is part of everyone else.
This grass theme is making me think about what he truly means about all of this. We are all connected, we are all part of each other. So are we all individuals or are we all a part of the group? Thinking about the past few pieces we've read I'm trying to figure out if this goes more towards groupthink or individualism.
Saying that we should not fear death and that when everyone can see that we can overcome death there will be nothing to leave behind is interesting to me. Saying there is no fear in death means that there is something after life that will give us something to look forward to. He says that because we are all part of each other that after death there is life because another life is made and we come from the grounds of our fathers. I believe that he discusses ideas having to do with God and what life truly is like after death.
I can compare this to Emerson and look at how different they are. Emerson speaks about how everyone should be proud and want to be different from others and think for themselves, whereas Whitman says that everyone is connected and once we realize that there is no fear in death. Yet, I see similarities in them because of their strong beliefs and convinctions. Are they basically polar opposites of each other? Yes. That doesn't change that they still have beliefs that they will stand behind until they are gone, and I find that something in common in and of itself.
The cycle of life that goes on that Whitman is talking about just doesn't happen anymore. Humans are now embalmed and then buried in a casket. Therefore, we are no longer part of the circle of life because we cannot decompose into the ground and become part of the flowers that grow up.
ReplyDeleteTalking about the vampire craze in America now Whitman wouldn't agree with it. America is obsessed in looking younger and having eternal youth. Not only the vampire craze, but also the plastic surgery and botox craze. Looking young forever is important to Americans and Whitman disagrees with these thoughts. He thinks that everyone should want to go through the cycle of life and become a part of the next generations to come.
Whitman also talks about how having rigid rules confines us. If we're unable to go out of those rules then there is no room for growth. He says that he's part of everyone but if we put rules on who everyone is then testing the boundaries becomes impossible. For instance, having a dictionary confines us to what words are technically words and how to spell them. Without a dictionary words that are spoken would be words, not just the ones that are in the dictionary. An example of this is the word ain't. This was not a socially accepted word 5 years ago but now it's in the dictionary and is allowed to be used.
I really like how you referred to Whitman's poem like the past things we've wrote because I also got that idea when I was reading the poem as well! Whitman seems like a really open person and isn't afraid to express what he's thinking in some lines throughout the poem, dont you think?
ReplyDelete