four steps to success
For many human beings, death is feared greatly. Maybe it is the mystery surrounding it, maybe it is mystery of what happens after it, or maybe it's the fear that one can no longer be with his or her loved ones. Whatever the case may be, it is a known fact that death can often lead to mourning, anger, and loneliness. In the poems "To Think of Time" and "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman, however, Whitman presents a different perspective of death, in which he shows the positive aspects of death. In fact, Whitman presents the goodness and "luck" of death in his explanation of the eternal soul. While Whitman's view of death may have differed from society, his own view remained the same, in both "To Think of Time," and in the section of "Song of Myself" known as "The Sermon" (Chants 42-50). Here, Whitman presents a lecture of sorts, in which he guides human beings through the many aspects of their lives. Most important in this, though, is Whitman's perspective that human being should be accepting of death. In doing so, Whitman actually ends up describing a four-step process for all humans to accept death. The first step Whitman describes to achieve this is acknowledging that there is a more important life waiting for us
The fourth and final step Whitman gives for humans is to recognize the eternal soul. Whitman says, "It is not chaos or death....it is form and union and plan....it is eternal life....it is happiness" ("Myself," l.1308). Here, Whitman emphasizes the fact that a happy life continues after death, through the eternal soul, which lives on and on. Whitman continues this idea in "To Think of Time," when he says, "I swear I think there is nothing but immortality! / That the exquisite scheme is for it, and the nebulous float is for it, and the cohering is for it, / And all preparations is for it..and identity is for it..and life and death are for it" ("Time," ll.133-135). Therefore, being like Whitman, which entails believing that there is no end to life, allows human beings to accept death. First, by believing in the eternal soul, human beings will have nothing to fear from death, because of the immortality of the soul. In following this last step, people will finally be able to hang up all of their fears of death and accept it, and will also be able realize that their eternal soul will live happily forever. Therefore, there should no longer be any reason to not accept death, since a belief in the eternal soul will prevent any fear of one's existence being ended. The second step for human beings is to pay less attention to the trivial pursuits of everyday life, and instead, look at the whole thing. In "Song of Myself," Whitman says, "A few quadrillions of eras, a few octillians of cubic leagues, do not hazard the span, or make it impatient, / They are but parts....any thing is but a part" ("Myself," ll.1193-1194). Here, once again, Whitman explains the triviality of our life on this planet. But instead of sounding repetitive, Whitman expands on his idea when he says, "These also flow onward to others....you and I flow onward; / But in due time you and I shall take less interest in them" ("Time," ll.61-62), after a short period of catal
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Approximate Word count = 1317
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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