Walter G. Whitman traveled to the East with his family between the years 1925 and 1926. His destination was China, though he spent some time visiting India. Among the places in India he saw were Jaipur and Bombay. He did not linger in India long and there is only a short section in Whitman’s memoir of his time in India. What he did bring back from India was a sizable collection of postcards.
Scenic Images of India
Post Card #1:
This is a standard postcard that shows a cityscape complete with sky and horizon. The photo is of India but was printed in Saxony, Germany, then redistributed in India for European tourists. Unlike the rest of the selected postcards, this image is copyrighted. Possibly, the lack of copyright on the other postcards implies that only this cityscape of seemly European styled buildings is considered artistic, or historical photography.
Post Card #2: Homestead
This is a homely image of Indian people living in a forested area. The people are lined and are posing for the photograph. Their home is made from the forest rather than long lasting materials. None of the people wear clothes, though you cannot truly see their bodies the ribs of the cattle behind them are
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Shorts in this time period would not be common style for either American or European men even in hot climates such as India. These four men would have appeared underprivileged, and possibly “backward.” In many instances images such as these were used to characterize Indian people. In a colonial sense this served to both demean Indian people and encourage the sense in Europeans that their “civilized” culture deserved to rule. “While physiognomy used physiognomy used physical features as a guide to individual character and class, …ethnic type categories take individual subjects and their clothing to represent traits if an entire
Walt Whitman could be seen as a narcissist because of his confidence in knowing the “ways” of the world. He is confident in his theory that the physical self and the emotional self, or the soul, are equals in all aspects. But I’m unsure if this is such a bad thing, as narcissism has negative connotations. On the other hand, the object of a visionary poet is not to sway people a certain way or impress them but to be able to reveal a moment or feeling in time and share their findings, which Walt does. Through his work he isn’t saying look at me and all I know. He is sharing his self-discovery and soul searching with the reader to show how magical it can be. He shares his uncertainties, what it’s like to love and what it’s like to be at peace
Walt Whitman is known for having some of the most distinct poems in history. His work is instantly recognizable due to his particular traits of: individuality, an emphasis on the natural world, constantly using free verse, usually encompassing numerous subjects in one poem, using personal details, and the speaker speaking for himself and the reader. Many have tried, but very few poets have mastered the techniques Whitman once did. He wrote with a stylistic freedom and proved he was worthy to be an American Poet.
Known for being noted as one of America’s most symbolic poet, Walter Whitman, was born in 1819 in New York. Following his limited schooling, Walt became a teacher at various different schools. He did not feel fulfilled while pursuing teaching, so he began to look for something different. Whitman found himself establishing a printing and publishing company. He continued working at his company as he waited for a greater opportunity, which was choosing to be an editor. Walter was not convinced that being an editor was the job for him, he sold his company within a year. The experience of these jobs gave him more of an insight on poetry. He began traveling through the American Frontier enhancing his writing. This nineteenth century poet self-published
The individual is portrayed by romantics in many different aspects, but all believing that an individual should think for them self. Ralph Waldo Emerson writes in his works of how people must do as they like and not follow in the shadow of others. Henry David Thoreau believes that people should think for themselves in respect to the government and rule for themselves. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writes in his works of how people should seize the day and live life to its fullest, avoiding the fear of the future.
Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island, New York. He was the second of six children. From 1825-1830, he attended public school in Brooklyn. After his years of education, Walt Whitman experimented with many different jobs. From 1836-1838, Whitman taught at several schools in Long Island. After teaching, Walt Whitman returned to printing and editing in New York. During this time he edited many papers such as the Aurora (daily newspaper), Evening Tattler, Brooklyn Weekly Freeman, Brooklyn Daily Eagle and the Brooklyn Times. In addition to editing, he also wrote for the Long Island Star. From 1850-1854, Whitman owned and operated a printing office and a stationary store. During
The New England Renaissance was a period of expression, imagination, and change, especially in literature. It sprang from the Romantic Movement, which was characterized as a period that displayed a variety of styles and self expression. As new ideas came about, authors were inspired by their own feelings, as well as the setting that surrounded them. Walt Whitman was a poet who often times wrote about nature, individuals, and all of humanity. Walt Whitman is a romanticist poet.
In his first anthology of poems entitled “Song of Myself”, Walt Whitman reveals some of his views on democracy through the use of symbolism and free verse poetry. His use of symbolism and free verse poetry creates indeterminacy, giving the reader hints rather than answers about the nature of the poem. In the sixth part of “Song of Myself”, a child asks the narrator of the poem, “What is the grass?” (Whitman). Instead of simply giving an answer, the narrator cannot make up his mind, and stumbles on how to explain the grass to the child. Through the use of specific symbolisms, Whitman, as the narrator, explicates his views while remaining under the façade of explaining grass to the child. The views Whitman conveys remain indeterminate and
In the first image of an old farm field. The image appears to be very old. The image appears centered and the focus helps in showing the stems of the plants. The houses / barns show the designs as well. Even the smoke coming out of the chimney. I also like how the fog in the background shields the mountain in the background scene. When looking at this image it could be mistaken as a painting as in the Pictorialism period.
In “Song of Myself”, Walt Whitman attempts to define what the self is. Whitman’s concept of the self echoes Ralph Waldo Emmerson’s concept of the Over-soul; however, Whitman’s concept of the soul relies on the physical body and embracing God’s presence in mundane objects and occurrences. Whitman believes that “The soul is not more than the body, and I have said that the body is not more than the soul, And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one’s self is” (Lines 48-50). This was a bold and progressive view, especially given the time in which the work was written. In this poem, through the use of multiple lists and symbolism, Whitman created an emphasis on interconnectedness and encouraged acceptance of the physical body are all key
Walt used creativity, personal experiences and different ideas in his writing. He moved various times through his childhood, and that may have moved his personality to become slightly neurotic. He has done a lot of things in his life that has changed the way that future poets will write. Walt Whitman entered this world on May thirty-first, eighteen-nineteen in West Hills, New York. He was the second son among nine other children in his household. His parents were Louisa Van Velsor and Walter Whitman, a housebuilder. His name was soon shortened to Walt to keep from getting confused with his father’s similar name. The family commuted to Brooklyn, New York when Walt was only
While in grade school, when I read about the civil war all you would here about is who won a specific battle or about the union or confederate general who led their army to victory. The background information was never listed in the textbooks, these men had life before they decided to go off into the war, yet that was never looked at. That is why in Walt Whitman’s Memoranda he addresses the erased history of these soldiers, because in reality they were just human and their story deserved to be told. Furthermore, Whitman goes on to state “blotch'd here and there with more than one blood-stain, hurriedly written, sometimes at the clinique, not seldom amid the excitement of uncertainty, or defeat, or of action, or getting ready for it, or a march,” (Whitman, Pg.3)1 which is used to emphasis the gruesome pain these soldiers were in, yet their story was not talked about. Bodies on top bodies lying in the middle of field lifeless is what many do not want to think about;
In the poem “Song of Myself” from the collection Leaves of Grass by the poet Walt Whitman, his interpretation of “the grass” is that it’s a child of nature and vegetation. Whitman insists that it’s a piece of the universe and is a part of nature, which we all share. This is important because it presents the grass as a vegetation of a universal thing. This affects the whole question because it proposes an idea or even truth of “the grass”. Furthermore the poet argues “I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic.../ sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones”. In other words, it explains “the grass as a forever growing thing in nature. In sum, this places the whole idea in a place of the universe. Over all this tells the age
Walt Whitman was an American poet born in May 31, 1819 in New York, and he died in March 26, 1892 in New Jersey. He grew up going to school in separate facilities from people of color, so he was growing up along with the nation. He was self-taught by exploring things for himself, for example, going to the museums when he could. Whitman as a young boy alternated from being in the city to being in the countryside with his grandparents. He was exposed to be being self-reliant at a young age. His writings were influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson, which lead him to having a collection of unnamed poems, and one of them was “Song of Myself”.
Love is the greatest gift that God has bestowed upon mankind. Defining love is different for every culture, race, and religion. Walt Whitman’s love is ever changing for anyone who tries to love him or understand his work. Love can be broken down into a multitude of emotions, and feelings towards someone or some object. In order to find love that is searched for, preparations must be made to allow the full experience of Whoever You Are Holding Me Now in Hand by Walt Whitman to be pious. Walt Whitman’s poem is devoted to the fullness of love, and a description of fantasy and reality. A journey to find love starts with knowledge that both participants are willing, and
In the novel A Passage to India, Forster portrays many of the interactions between the Indian population and the British imperialists as an over-arching metaphor for the shortcomings of imperialism. This ‘metaphor’ is further elaborated by the personal make-up of certain characters, through their values, and their actions towards one another. The following essay will focus on the character Cyril Fielding and his ability to contrast the ordinary English imperialist and by doing so expose the polarizing inroads of the British Raj.