Walt Whitman: the Translator of Human Nature

In an inexpressible world, Walt Whitman is the voice of the people. He wrote about taboo topics that were not aesthetically pleasing. But these subjects were realities that other authors were too timid to write about. His poetry questions the norms of human behavior and provokes the individual to separate oneself from the turbulence of society to find inner peace. The fact that Whitman’s poetry is relevant to modern society--it’s predicaments and fortunes--demonstrates that he is the composer of the vox populi. Whitman’s literature questions and answers the angst of an adolescent student, the advantages and disadvantages of conventional schooling, and the inconsistencies of equality.

Among every generation, philosophers, writers, and people of all social circumstances have pondered the purpose of life. Some argue that the objective is reproduction and others contend that happiness is the goal. In "O Me! O Life!" Whitman challenges the being of man. He notes the times in life when the struggle for achievement is not worth the suffering.  In his poem, Whitman comments, “Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d”. He condemns the materialism of individuals who always want something better than what they have. He laments the fact that life seems fruitless and empty because things almost never turn out how one would want them to and not meeting expectations. This motif of questioning existence is similar to the arduous lifestyle of a developing adolescent. Teenagers are like sponges soaking up knowledge; but since they are young and the process of vigorous learning has only just begun, they are ignorant of who they are and where they stand in the world. A young adult is constantly searching for his identity as new ideas and influences alter his character. Whitman’s answer to distressing times is to live. He explains that existence itself is the reason for being. One has the ability to dictate one’s path and and to overcome obstacles to live in the way he desires, so Whitman is imploring his readers to go out and experience life. As a teenager, popularity can be mistaken for happiness. Happiness and inner peace will only be found if hunting for materialistic and superficial status is ended. Clasping life by the horns by being exposed to the peculiarities of the world and through living life to the fullest one can become self-aware and universally wise.

One cannot effectively understand his own character from studying books at academic institutions. Individuals self-reflect about oneself from experiences and interactions with others. In Walt Whitman’s poem, “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”, he walks out on the presentation of an esteemed astronomer because it made him “tired and sick” to be lectured on the mysteries of the night sky with figures and diagrams. In Whitman’s physical retreat from the lesson, he embraces the mystique of the stars, “In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars”. Only silence captures the beauty of the stars. An individual can have all of the information in the world but it is impossible to understand human nature through books. There is wisdom in the world and life that cannot be explained in words, some of these things can only be understood by physical experience and mental presence. One may say that without conventional education, there will be no future progress among our race and will limit the perspective of individuals about the whole world. Going out an experiencing life is more important than receiving an education because there are things an individual can never be taught in a school such as ascertaining one’s sexual orientation or to facing the injustices of the world. Whitman reminds the masses not to forget to explore the mysteries of the world and break free from the classroom because it makes one more cultured about the world and its affairs.

Despite the fact that it is about fifty years since the civil rights movement, racism is still rampant in America. Racial discrimination continues to poison social relations in the U.S. with African-Americans in particular racially profiled unjustly by police departments and the judicial system. A multitude of murders, unfair arrests, and unjust court sentences are among the many injustices that blacks face in the nation where supposedly “all men are created equal.” In Walt Whitman’s poem “Thoughts.” he lists issues that he is currently pondering such as nature, the soul, and the immortality of poetry. In the fourth stanza, Whitman reflects on ownership and equality and wonders why society deems it fair for certain individuals to have more rights than others. African Americans ask themselves the same questions because they are three times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than whites, more than three times more likely to be handcuffed in an encounter with the cops, and almost three times more likely to be arrested than cops. In a white man’s world, blacks suffer from inconsistencies in rights when they are supposed to be equal. Whitman declares, “As if it were not indispensable to my own rights that others possess the same”. He believes that everyone should enjoy the rights that he possesses. Whitman may or may not have been thinking about blacks when he wrote this poem, but if the majority of America adopted his theme of equality the citizens of the U.S. would fine truth. This truth that humans must realize is that physical differences does not define a person, determine moralities or behavior.

Walt Whitman addresses the truths of life in his literature; as profane or unpleasant they may seem, the topics he writes about are the realities of existence. His clever diction makes one question norms and reflect on oneself. Whitman’s 18th century literature is still relevant to the assets and misfortunes of the present. He analyzes everyday situations so that the common man could relate to the event and decipher his own problems. Whitman also puts earthly issues into perspective with the immense universe and makes them seem trivial. As the voice of the people, he developed American literature, especially poetry, and became the father of free verse.