Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself"

In Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself,” he begins staring at a blade of grass. He explains how much he loves the world, in particularly nature, and how everything fits together harmoniously. He feels that nothing is bad that doesn't add to some larger good. Nature contains patterns in it that fit like a well-built house. He divides his personality into three parts: The "I' that involves itself in everyday things, the "Me Myself" that is apart from the “I” and enjoys the world, and the “soul,” that represents his most personal being. Whitman strongly believes people should not learn from books, or teacher, but they should go into the world and learn from raw experience itself. A young child asks him what grass is, and he has no answer, this makes him think particularly about those who existed on earth before him and are now buried in the ground. He connects with each individual and everything in the world, even those no longer alive. Whitman believes that truth can be found everywhere, and that all people are equal. He especially believes in the invisible connection and understandings between all people. For their own benefit, people should have faith in the order of nature, and accept it, including death. He concludes the poem saying that he will return his body to nature and continue on life’s voyage and until then he will wait for us to catch up with him.

Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself,” is very much pro-nature and humanity. In it, Whitman expresses his love for nature and humankind. He emphasizes his love for the natural order in creation, and feels everyone would be better off if we just accepted the order it brings, and connection we share with one another. A point he very much stresses, is the fact that people should not learn from teachers and books, but they should venture into the world and learn from the truth and experience that is everywhere. I would definitely agree with him to a point. I believe that people should not only limit themselves to classroom style learning because that can in many cases just be useless learning that only benefits from others ideas, and nothing of from your own mind. Therefore, how can your mind branch out and really grow if you do not give it the opportunity? If we really want to know and learn truth, we should go out and learn from the most solid truth accessible to us on this earth, which lies in nature.