“Walt Whitman, an
American, one of the roughs, a kosmos, disorderly, fleshly, and sensual, no
sentimentalist, no stander above men or women or apart from them, no more
modest than immodest” (Song of Myself). He has been one of the most criticized
writers in nineteenth century. Walt Whitman was born in 1819 with the mind of
an adventurist. His ideas have been most incorporated in history and in modern
day America.
Whitman’s point of view
is the idea of diversity amongst people and how it unites certain people
together. In most of his poems, he brings the topic of equality, individuality,
community, and unity frequently. In his poem “Leaves of Grass”, he incorporates
the USA and how it is made up of many people and nationalities. The broad
spectrum of the United States is what included every type of person into that
poem. It's what makes us better and more experienced human beings. From his poem, he is saying that it doesn’t matter whether you’re a
prostitute or the bride, the President or a drunk man at a bar – we are still
all the same at a different level. What makes it even more interesting is that
these types of people are contrasts to each other. A bride who has found
someone to be happy with and start a family is the total opposite of a drugged
woman on the street making money off of her body. The President, who is highly
educated and has the power of the country, is a different standard then a
drunken man at a bar. He did this on purpose to show that the USA is made up of
different kinds of people
It’s his
perspective that made him such a memorable author.
Walt Whitman doesn’t only write about being unique and accepting
another’s differences, he actually writes in his own style of writing. It doesn’t
have to rhyme, make sense to all the critics there were out there, or have the
same outline as other writers. He does this to prove his point and not ‘flow
with the crowd’. It’s a sense of rebelling against tradition, taking risks, and
challenging conventions. No wonder that some people might find it offensive if it’s
his opinion about not going with the original framework.
His
idea was to be a unique individual with your own sense of mind. Something that
is actually in contrast with that is today’s Presidential election. Instead of
having your own say, every American has to vote for the new President while
searching for the same things. Whether it be lower taxes, more jobs, less
school hours, or more pay. It’s something that Whitman himself would be mad at
about what’s happening today.
