Christine+Vo's+Assignment+-+Whitman

Focusing on Whitman's take on //authority// in "Leaves of Grass", here are some passages that caught my attention (below them are my thoughts/connections/comments):

 "Darker than the colorless beards of old men, ||
 *  Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.

 And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing "
 * O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues! ||

This passage makes me think about what makes people say things. What drives people to express themselves? to stand up for something? The narrator perceives so many voices, so many expressions, but beyond that, he recognizes that each one of those voices is not speaking out for nothing. There is a sense of purpose and a sense of conviction that drives one to express themselves. With consideration to authority, I think the idea of purposeful utterances works well in that when one is trying to challenge or affirm authority, what you say has an intended goal. So, words then do not come out of your mouth for nothing. This suggests a connection to the cultural object of the NYC police because at Whitman's time, there was some anxiety and fear of the growing police force among the people. There was also a sense of the people looking to the police force for protection, safety and justice. Both aspects created a space between the common citizen and law enforcement.

"Who need be afraid of the merge? discarded, || or no,  ||  And am around, tenacious, acquisitive, tireless, and can never be shaken away. "
 *  Undrape! you are not guilty to me, nor stale, nor
 *  I see through the broadcloth and gingham, whether

Here, Whitman explores the idea of merging. With the gap widening between law enforcement (gov't authority) and the public, Whitman is perhaps suggesting that merging would not be such a bad idea. Like a call to action, he is asking, what are you afraid of? By "undraping", or shedding the uniform of authority (like a police uniform) and leveling out society as a whole, everyone would be equal. He also goes further to suggest that guilt or judgment is not for him, or anyone else for that matter, to decide. This undermines the authority and those who claim to have authority because they would have no power to determine judgment either. Considering this, I think that Whitman was somewhat anti-establishment, and more concerned with the spirit and the self. I believe he challenged authority that seems to restrict the free will and spiritual development of individuals.

Whirling flesh, wood, and blood, Streets flood with blinding anger A rupture in the city explodes and swallows them all Break the stones, Crumble the brick Burst the crowds Bubble the voices Let it create a sphere over the city Enclose the chaos Dissolving the bodies, the masses, the concrete fortresses Level the flood

I think Ned's assignment was very thoughtful and insightful. Although, I feel a little uncomfortable doing creative writing as a response to a poem, I can see the appeal. I liked the process of finding a picture and doing a close reading of the picture. That was very fruitful and enjoyable. I got to get a visual reference of the cultural, social, historical context of the poem. I think the topic of authority in Whitman's poem is challenging and also important to the understanding of the work as a whole. Selecting passages from the poem and free writing our connections was a great way to urge the student to zero in on a particular theme in a poem like Whitman's (which is really dense with so many different themes going on).