SD: Central Parks Walks and Talks

Whitman spent much of his life in New York City, a place notorious for its history as a melting pot of cultures and ideas. In such a busy place, with thousands of things happening all at once, I would imagine that there would be countless distractions and things of interest. So why does Whitman and so many of his transcendentalist contemporaries have such a strong urge to leave the big apple and spend some time loafing in the woods? Flowers, trees, animals, bugs, dirt and rivers all have their appeal, but these things can be found in the city too. Whitman feels that everything is at harmony but somehow he feels more harmonious in nature. Why does it have to take grass to realize that we are all part of the same? What about grains of sand in cement walls, don't they connect us as too? At least in respect to modern cultures... "Song of Myself" finds unity between human kind and nature, but I feel that the emphasis of harmony for humankind is an ideal that gets left behind for the woods. This theme, however, isn't as apparent and adds to the duality of Whitman's views. It's quite frustrating really, because Whitman is so partial and objective at the same time that any argument for or against his writing has an equally valid counter argument. Perhaps, the young New York City of the mid 18th hundreds hadn't quite the level of diversity that was very evident at the turn of the 20th century; still, I wish Whitman's poetry spoke more on the subject of people finding harmony in their life together on a busy little island, as well as with nature.