Today we read, annotated, and discussed selections of Walt Whitman's poetry. His poetry is described by many as democratic and uniquely American. In 5-7 sentences, respond to the following prompt:
What does it mean to be an American based on Whitman's poems?
Make sure to include properly cited quotations from the poems in your response for full credit. A link to the poems can be found on my website under the resources for Monday, August 24th.
Example of properly cited quotation: According to Whitman, America is the "centre of equal daughters, equal sons" ("America"1).
To be Amarican, according to Whitman, is to be equal and one in the same with each other. To be in contrast with everything and all major things of being a human yet be everything as well (in the given time). An example of being everything yet nothing and being equal at the same time in Whitmans writing, "all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old".
ReplyDeleteMaddi Gruber
Nice use of quotes from the poems to support your claims!
DeleteIn Whitman's poems, he implies that being an American is being everything at the same time, as a comrade, equal to everyone else.
ReplyDeleteFor being everything, he said,"I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise;
Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,
Stuff’d with the stuff that is coarse, and stuff’d with the stuff that is fine;"
For the comradeship, he said,"Comrade of Californians—comrade of free north-westerners, (loving their big proportions;)
Comrade of raftsmen and coalmen—comrade of all who shake hands and welcome to drink and meat;"
For equality, that's also in the quote above.
Nice use of quotes from the poems to support your claims!
DeleteMake sure to sign your name to the post if your "Google name" is not your name on Aeries, etc. to make sure that you get credit.
DeleteBased on Walt Whitman's poems, To be an American, is to be completely diverse. Equality reigns over us, at least in the smallest of ways. As Whitman states,"Regardless of others, ever regardfull of others." (Leaves Of Grass 323) We are completely oblivious, but intelligent as well, we notice, without noticing, "foolish, as much as the wise." (LOG 322) We are Educated and cared for by our country, "perennial with the earth, with freedom, law, and love." (America 4) According to Whitman, an American is able to be who ever they wish, no matter how diverse.
ReplyDeleteNice use of quotes from the poems to support your claims!
DeleteAccording to Whitman, to be an American means to be equal with the people around you. It means that everyone, regardless of what class in society are a part of, or the race you are..etc. is on the same level playing field, and should be treated as such. Walt brings up this idea in his poems, which can be seen in an excerpt from "Leaves of Grass"
ReplyDelete"Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man..."
Based on Whitman's poems, to be American is to be completely equal to each person regardless of diversity. This concept is primarily supported in line five and six of "America", "A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
ReplyDeleteChair’d in the adamant of Time." Since it basically states that every person is created equal under a "mother" for all eternity. In the same poem the stanza, "Centre of equal daughters, equal sons, All, all alike endear'd, grown, ungrown, young or old,.." "(America)" which is almost a direct claim of equality for each person. Another enforcement of the equality statement can be seen in the Leaves of Grass excerpt, "I resist anything better than my own diversity;" since it claims that diversity, belonging to everywhere, is the best piece of a person. Therefore, Whitman's concept of an American can be concluded as belonging to everywhere and being equal to everyone.
-Dylan Lawson
Walt Whitman believed that being an American ment being everything, as he says (Leafs of Grass 325) "I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise;
ReplyDeleteRegardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,
Stuff’d with the stuff that is coarse, and stuff’d with the stuff that is fine." as well as in (LOG 330) "One of the Great Nation, the nation of many nations, the smallest the same, and the largest the same;
A southerner soon as a northerner—a planter nonchalant and hospitable, down by the Oconee I live;
A Yankee, bound by my own way, ready for trade, my joints the limberest joints on earth, and the sternest joints on earth
A Kentuckian, walking the vale of the Elkhorn, in my deer-skin leggings—a Louisianian or Georgian;
A boatman over lakes or bays, or along coasts—a Hoosier, Badger, Buckeye..." He also says that "Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All." (American 1) this is meaning that not only he is equal to anyone but so are his sons and daughters. Whitman believes that no matter where you come from or who you are you are equal to every other person in this country.
Nice use of quotes. Make sure to always write in the present tense about pieces of literature. For example, Whitman believed should be Whitman believes.
DeleteI think an American, based on Whitman's poem, is a person who accepts the diversity of the country they live in and realizes that that country is great because of that diversity. Walt says in Leaves of Grass that "I resist anything better than my own diversity; I breathe the air, but leave plenty after me, And am not stuck up, and am in my place" I think he is setting an example for what he thinks all Americans should be like. People who respect the diversity that surrounds them and are actively conscious of all the other people that exist around them and contribute to that diversity.
ReplyDeleteGood inclusion of a quote and analysis following.
DeleteIn Walt Whitman's Excerpt from Leaves of Grass he is saying everyone has the right to have they own regions and have a job where ever Walt Whitman states, "...of every rank and religion; A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor, quaker; A prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician, priest." (Leaves Of Grass 336)
ReplyDeleteGood quote choice! Make sure to provide some analysis/conclusion at the end of your response for next time.
DeleteWhitman's ideas in his poems seem to revolve around the idea of total perfection in the idea of America. In his poem "America," he starts off by saying "Centre of equal daughters, equal sons." (America 1) The fact that he starts the poem with a statement like that suggests he's talking about the poem name, America. In his other poem, titled "Leaves of Grass," he says "I resist anything better than my own diversity." (Leaves of Grass 341) In this excerpt, he basically states that there is nothing more diverse than he himself, who in this poem he personifies himself as America.
ReplyDeleteBraedin Gregoire
Detailed response! Do you see anywhere else in the poem where there are examples of American personifying America?
DeleteIn Walt Whitman's poem "America" hesay that we are "all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old..." in his other poem leaves of grass he says that all people are equal and free.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Walt Whitmans poems, being an American means to be diverse yet equal. We all have our place in the world weather it be completely different from others, "...a farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor..." (Leaves of Grass 339) and how even through this we are all equal. "...equal daughters, equal sons..." (America 1) In this line Walt shows that we are all equal because America is a land based on equality.
ReplyDeleteNice use of quotes to support claims. Make sure to introduce your quotes.
DeleteAccording to Walt Whitman, to be an American has many different meanings. In the excerpt from Leaves of Grass Whitman states "Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man..."(Leaves of Grass 324) I believe that here Whitman is stating the people in america are like his description.
ReplyDelete[ABSENT]
ReplyDeleteIn "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman, he tells us that being an American means equality. Everyone has their place, and everyone is equal. Throughout the poem, Whitman gives contradicting descriptions,
"I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise;
Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,
Stuff'd with hte stuff that is course, and stuff'd with the stuff that is fine;"
This indicates that he (Possible talking the the position of the United States) is equal and opposite in every way. This shows equality.
"And am not stuck up, and am in my place."
The final line of the poem shows that he, as an American, has his place and it is not higher or lower than anyone.
To be an American, according to Walt Whitman, is to be "the nation of many nations, the smallest the same, and the largest the same," (5, 6; Leaves of Grass) meaning that we all just have to stick together and protect one another in order to prevail our animosity towards the enemy. It seems as though, in his perspective, that he is the most diverse among that of America, seemingly because of his traits, or because that's what America has become to build itself on, he believes anyone who is born there embodies that history (referenced from lines 14 to 19 in "Leaves of Grass"). However, essentially, everyone, and I am referring to those born within America, is one, as a whole, and the whole is everyone.
ReplyDeleteNice use of textual evidence to support claims.
DeleteAccording to Whitman, to be an American means to be equal to all other Americans. In his poem "America," he describes America as a "Centre of equal daughters, equal sons... all alike," which pretty obviously states that everyone in America is equal. The poem goes on to say "grown, ungrown, young or old, Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich," which means that no matter how young, old, poor, rich, etc. you are, you are still equal to everyone in America, solely because you are an American.
ReplyDeleteWalt Whitman believed that being American was being equal to all Americans, as America is the "Centre of equeal daughter, equal sons."
ReplyDeleteHe also says that America is a "A grand, sane, towering, seted Mother" meaning that it is a very big place that cares about its sons.
Whitman says America is equal to other nations too.
America is the home of all the americans.
In walt witmans "leaves of grass" he talks about all of these contradictory statments like "you must be maternal as well as penernal" and i think the point he is trying to make is that everybody cant just be one thing, that we are a mixture of everything. he also states that america is equal to all other countries and i thikn that he may have said this because america as a whole can be arrogent at times and that we need to understand we arent so perfect.
ReplyDeleteTo be an American means to be equal to everybody, to have the same natural rights everybody has, but being at the same time different and unique, what makes America a melting point of cultures and personalities.
ReplyDeletePablo Guerrero
According to Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass", An American is both Paternal and Maternal. In other words, the bond with your child, really anyone who is your junior, must be caring, as well as strong. Though, on a broader level, it means to be equally motherly as fatherly. THIS is the real definition of an American, at least in Whitman's eyes. One must also be Equal on a social level, willing to elevate those below you and elevate TO those above. In all, the real message of Whitman's poem is equality, and that is a Moral the that I concur with.
ReplyDelete-Coleby Mariluch