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INTRO TO AMLIT 2 BY A2
So today was our first class of Am lit 2. We were all a little bit timid and shy wondering what this new class would be like but hey, its the first day! Things started off great though, we checked out this painting called Kindrid Spirits which was pretty sweet depicting the beautiful and natural scenery of America. We then began to talk about the civil war and the changes brought about after the war ended, especially dealing with racism. There were two major views at the time after the civil war, the emancipation view as well as the reconciliationary views. After discussing race post Civil War we checked out the online Amlit 2 Wiki source, where we discovered the syllabus as well as our assignment on for the next class which was to read "What to the Slave is the fourth of July" by Frederick Douglass.
Today we discussed our thoughts concerning Frederick Douglass’ speech, The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro, given July 5, 1852, and also Whitman’s 1865 poem, When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d. We compared/contrasted Frederick Douglass’ “emancipationist” view with Whitman’s “reconciliationist” view.
Douglass uses natural imagery in a transcendentalist sense, suggesting that people can seek enlightenment within nature. He uses an almost false modesty to persuade. He also uses a highly aggressive tone, one that involves clear, precise word choice. He creates distance between himself and the largely white audience with his use of “you” (white Americans) and “us” (black Americans). Douglass uses the opportunity of the Fourth of July to point out irony: the celebration of independence/civil liberties when slavery still exists. Douglass’ solution is to destroy slavery, and expose the evils associated with the system of slavery: “We need a storm, an earthquake.” Douglass’ vision for the end of slavery is a war, a revolution. The goal of Douglass for the war is emancipation, not simply abolition.
Whitman took a “reconciliationist” tone—he suggests, in his poem, that the whole country needs to reconcile their its differences and get back together. He does so without mentioning race, slavery, or amendments regarding race. In a sense, Whitman’s vision is one of omission: without an extremist/racist nature. HE advocates sharing the natural environment, and suggests, to the confederacy, that they can “fly” again. It is important to note that Whitman is not a southerner; rather, he is an abolitionist. His poem is very much an ode to President Lincoln, written just after he passed away. Whitman uses a great deal of natural imagery: color, life/death, yellow, gold, trees, sun, sea tides, stars, lilac, rivers, lakes, forests, and hills. In contrast, Whitman also uses urban, industrial imagery: Manhattan, spires, chimneys, workmen, workshops, and cities. The poem includes the idea of the whole of the country/nation in Stanza 10.
In addition, there is the descriptive language used in describing the images of soldiers in Stanza 18. In 1865, at the time the poem was written, the Civil War in America had just ended. Whitman describes how the war affected everyone in America: “dead soldier’s aren’t the ones most affected;” families on both sides, Confederate and Union, are affected. His imagery acknowledges all soldiers in a shared American experience, whether that be heroic or tragic.
He also invokes the imagery of the brown bird. Birds are commonly associated with rising up, flight, upward movement, and in a larger sense, freedom, hope, and possibility. Whitman uses the brown bird as a metaphor for the Confederate soldiers’ uniforms, which are brown/gray colored, ultimately suggesting that there is possibility for Confederate Southerners to rise up again and recover.
Whitman’s poem ultimately uses common, natural imagery, and shared experiences to unite the American people. The sunrise and sunset are experiences Northern, Eastern, Western, and Southern Americans experience on a daily basis.