SD: Sunday with the Insane

In "Song of Myself" Whitman repeatedly talks about the nature  of people and things and how we are all the same. The thought of it all is very peaceful, romantic and comforting; it paints a harmonious image in our minds. However, as soon as we step out of our niche and are confronted with a disorderly bum on the street who is foaming from the mouth and smells of urine the image fades away and we are face to face with truth. In this situation I think most people would turn away and run back to safety; but a true believer would look into the pair of bloodshot yellow eyes facing him or her and see truth, and maybe say hello.

Whitman spent his Sunday in a mental institution, he didn't see anything frightening or ugly.  He merely saw a group of his brothers and sisters listening to prayers and congregating in a fashion no different than that of a church down the street or a mosque an ocean away. All people are people, I believe that some are worst than others but Whitman would we are all made of the same thing and therefore the same. Whitman's  ideas of oneness and equality make me question whether he truely believes that there aren't ANY differences between people and that virtue and vice embody everyone the same.

Wilmot Proviso

The Wilmot Proviso was a call to stop slavery in it's tracks. Historically it would have prevented states, acquired from Mexico, from having  slavery. The proviso didn't pass in the Senate, instead a compromise was reached that allowed slavery to still exist in some of the newly acquired states. To Whitman, the passing of the proviso would have meant a large step towards the unification of people. It would have reinforced his belief in the unity and oneness of all men and women.

The fact that the proviso wasn't passed was a big slap in the face for people like  Whitman who believed in the equality of people. The proviso was introduced in 1846, nearly a decade before the publication of Leaves of Grass. This historic event surely had an effect on Whitman and influenced the the theme of unity in "Song of Myself". As a result, it can be assumed that Leaves of Grass wasn't only a poetic work but also a source of revolutionary propaganda, with a call for the liberation of slaves as well as unity of  the States.

20

Having pried through the strate, analyzed to a hair, consule'd 

                    with doctors and calculated close,

I find no sweeter fat than sticks to my own bones

In all people I see myself, none more and not one a barley

                    corn less,

And the good or bad I say of myself I say of them. 

I know I am solid and sound,

To me the converging objects of the universe perpetually

                  flow, 

All are written to me and I must get what the writing means.

I find these lines interesting because they show the dual meaning of Whitman view of himself and others.
He looks at himself and sees perfection, he believes that what he has to offer is as good as it gets. At the same time Whitman believes that all other people and things possess the same traits as he does, so the effort he puts to describing his perfection can  also be attributed to everything else. Which makes me question the point of describing the beauty of something specific if the same beauty can be attributed to everything else?

I admire Whitmans style of writing, which has some very transcendental and Buddhist themes within it. Song of Myself definitely places a lot of emphasis  on the dual nature and unity of all things.The last three lines mentioned above emphasize the mystery that comes with understanding the unity of all things, the ultimate question comes to mind "What is it all about?". Whitman believes that he can find the meaning of life through close proximity with nature; it's simple and out there for us to figure out if we can get to that level of thinking.