Whitman's unabashed love of the diversity of American
character is on full display in "I Hear America Singing." It is almost as if Whitman is
walking in any American town and is taken in by how everyone fulfills their own vision
of destiny in making up this tapestry called "America." As each lives out his own
destiny, Whitman is convinced that each sings their own song, adding to the
multivocality of the narrative harmony that is America. Whitman's lack of elitism is
present in that most of Whitman's "songs" in the poem are consisting of manual labor or
working class people whose songs are the ones that entrance Whitman. He does not hear
the sound of landed wealth nor does he hear the songs of politicians or industrialists.
Rather, he hears "mechanics," singing a song that is "strong." Whitman also hears "the
mason" who is either reporting to or departing from work. The "boatman," or the
"mother" or the "young wife at work" all comprise these songs, being sung with "open
mouths." In this light, Whitman's view of American Culture is one devoid of economic
class stratification, and one where individual experience is the only defining element.
The American that embraces this sense of freedom is one that Whitman deems vital to
American Culture. Whitman's "faith in American democracy" is confirmed with these songs
he hears being sung in America.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
What aspects of American culture are celebrated in the poem "I Hear America Singing?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Can (sec x - cosec x) / (tan x - cot x) be simplified further?
Given the expression ( sec x - csec x ) / (tan x - cot x) We need to simplify. We will use trigonometric identities ...
-
The story is basically about a young woman whose parents have meddled in her life. The narrator, Lorna, tries to make the best ...
-
I can give you background on Byron's emphasis on the individual, which you can apply to the homework (the reading of the two...
-
Supposing that 25,35 and 5 are degrees, we'll transform the sum of matching trigonometric functions into a produ...
No comments:
Post a Comment