Walt Whitman 3
"There is no fear of mistake." That is what Walt Whitman wrote in the last few lines of his preface to Leaves of Grass. He was referring to the idea that nothing can be considered wrong if it is an idea born in the imagination. People in general have this great fear that they might do or say something wrong, especially if it is an unordinary idea or thought. They way we protect ourselves from being criticized or berated is to simply conform to conventional and widespread ideas. Whitman implores us to strike out instead and be what Emerson calls "Man Thinking". Whitman himself is man thinking simply because he dared to take the road less traveled. His works were thought to be too unorthodox and disgraceful. Yet it did not stop him. He wrote for the common man, and he rejected him. Still, Whitman remains one of the most respected authors in America, simply because he went out on the limb, alone, and sung the song of his world. Tony Perry wrote and article in the Los Angeles Times on Whitman's reemergence after the Clinton/Lewinsky controversy arose. Many people clambered to get their hands on his works because of the amount of sexually suggestive material. To our society he probably seemed a bit tame compared to t
Whitman also believes that the most important time is the present. Whitman says, "There was never anymore inception then there is now, Nor anymore youth or age than there is now, And will never be anymore perfection than there is now, Nor anymore heaven or hell than there is now." Scholars document pages and pages on the past, and scientists fight to discover a way to an advanced future. All the while people are missing out on what is going on today. We take daily life for granted. The average person gets up every morning, drives the same roads to work, talks to the same faces at work, goes to the same place for lunch, goes home at the same time to a family that also has the same routine. We get caught in a rut. We fail to see what goes on around us. I don't know how many times I've heard a parent say that they don't know when their child grew up. That it just happened before their very eyes. Whitman wishes for us to slow down, and take notice of the little things, enjoy nature for it will be gone one day too. Instead of falling into the monotonous routine, change your life daily. Find a new way to work, pay close attention to the areas surrounding you, and most importantly, don't take the people around you for granted. Indulge yourself in them, breathe them, and listen to them. Simply, take your time. he pages of smut readers go through on a daily basis. However, in his time he was seen as shameful and dirty. Many people refused to read his work because of the implied sexuality. But as Perry mentioned in his article Whitman never wrote of detailed sexual acts or even made specific reference to the body in a sexual nature. While many people were blushing behind the pages of his books, other saw this as pure genius. Whitman, unlike any other writer of the time and possibly of our time, could find the words to describe an act so primal in nature or a body with many imperfections and turn it into a graceful song, if you will. The simple ability to describe something without actually coming out and saying exactly what it is he was describing is amazing in itself. Also, Whitman mu
Some common words found in the essay are:
Emerson Whitman, Times Whitman's, Sun Pluto, Leaves Grass, Thinking Whitman, Whitman Song, Walt Whitman, Tony Perry, , whitman wrote, emerson whitman, nor anymore, human body,
Approximate Word count = 1423
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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