Walt Whitman and the Civil War

Walt Whitman and the Civil War The poet Walt Whitman wrote about the Civil War extensively.  His heartfelt observation of life in wartime Washington made its way into poems, and he also wrote articles for newspapers and a number of notebook entries only published decades later. He had worked for years as a journalist, yet Whitman did not cover  the conflict as a regular newspaper correspondent. His role as an eyewitness to the conflict was unplanned. When a newspaper casualty list indicated that his brother serving in a New York regiment had been wounded in late 1862, Whitman traveled to Virginia to find him. Whitmans brother George had only been slightly wounded. But the experience of seeing army hospitals made a deep impression, and Whitman felt compelled to move from Brooklyn to Washington to become involved with the Union war effort as a hospital volunteer. After securing a job as a government clerk, Whitman spent his off-duty hours visiting hospital wards filled with soldiers, comforting the wounded and the sick. In Washington, Whitman was also perfectly positioned to observe the workings of the government, movements of troops, and the daily comings and goings of a man he greatly admired, President Abraham Lincoln. At times Whitman would contribute articles to newspapers, such as a detailed report of the scene at Lincoln’s second inaugural address. But Whitman’s experience as a witness to the war was mostly important as an inspiration for poetry. A collection of poems titled Drum Taps, was published after the war as a book. The poems contained in it ultimately appeared as an appendix to later editions of Whitmans masterpiece, Leaves of Grass. Family Ties to the War During the 1840s and 1850s, Whitman had been following politics in America closely. Working as a journalist in New York City, he no doubt followed the national debate over the greatest issue of the time, slavery. Whitman became a supporter of Lincoln during the 1860 presidential campaign. He also saw Lincoln speak from a hotel window in early 1861, when the president-elect passed through New York City on the way to his first inauguration. When Fort Sumter was attacked in April 1861 Whitman was outraged. In 1861, when Lincoln called for volunteers to defend the Union, Whitman’s brother George enlisted in the 51st New York Volunteer Infantry. He would serve for the entire war, eventually earning an officer’s rank, and would fight at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and other battles. Following the slaughter at Fredericksburg, Walt Whitman was reading casualty reports in the New York Tribune and saw what he believed to be a misspelled rendering of his brother’s name. Fearing that George had been wounded, Whitman traveled southward to Washington. Unable to find his brother at military hospitals where he inquired, he traveled to the front in Virginia, where he discovered that George had only been very slightly wounded. While at Falmouth, Virginia, Walt Whitman saw a horrifying sight beside a field hospital, a pile of amputated limbs. He came to empathize with the intense suffering of wounded soldiers, and during two weeks in December 1862, he spent visiting his brother he resolved to begin helping in military hospitals. Work as a Civil War Nurse Wartime Washington contained a number of military hospitals which took in thousands of wounded and ill soldiers. Whitman moved to the city in early 1863, taking a job as a government clerk. He began making the rounds in hospitals, consoling the patients and distributing writing paper, newspapers, and treats such as fruits and candy. From 1863 to the spring of 1865 Whitman spent time with hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers. He helped them write letters home. And he wrote many letters to his friends and relatives about his experiences. Whitman later said that being around the suffering soldiers had been beneficial to him, as it somehow restored his own faith in humanity. Many of the ideas in his poetry, about the nobility of common people, and the democratic ideals of America, he saw reflected in the wounded soldiers who had been farmers and factory workers. Mentions in Poetry The poetry Whitman wrote had always been inspired by the changing world around him, and so his eyewitness experience of the Civil War naturally began to infuse new poems. Before the war, he had issued three editions of Leaves of Grass. But he saw fit to issue an entirely new book of poems, which he called Drum Taps. The printing of Drum Taps began in New York City in the spring of 1865, as the war was winding down. But then the assassination  of Abraham Lincoln prompted Whitman to postpone publication so he could include material about Lincoln and his passing. In the summer of 1865, after the war’s end, he wrote two poems inspired by Lincoln’s death, â€Å"When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d† and â€Å"O Captain! My Captain!† Both poems were included in Drum Taps, which was published in the fall of 1865. The entirety of Drum Taps was added to later editions of Leaves of Grass.

Cultural Biography Essays

Cultural Biography Essays Cultural Biography Essay Cultural Biography Essay Cultural backgrounds can change the way we define ourselves, other people, and all other things. Cultural backgrounds can shape how we view the world, and must be taken into account when teaching students of different backgrounds in our classrooms. I will define my own cultural background and how it affects me, and then I interviewed someone, Curtis from (and currently resides) Chicago, from a complete different background. Class and was made up of 3 brothers and 2 sisters. Put a lot of emphasis on class when thinking of my background and how prepared I have been for things in life. Usually this indicates that I am less aware of class; but since I have already gotten my bachelors in Sociology, I have studied class and am very aware of differences in class and how they can help or handicap an individual. Also, historically, students from middle class have a good work ethic with confidence in academics. Because of this I am more able to work to get things I want. Curtis Is from a lower class family, mom was a single parent, where he has 2 sisters. He puts a whole lot of emphasis on his class and believes it to be a huge disadvantage. Like most people from lower class backgrounds, he believes that he is not capable of getting good grades and getting a better (higher paying) job than his mom. Although he says he that much lower class, but he feels disadvantage, which has subsequently turned him to being paranoid of the government. He Is very liberal In his belief system due to this. When teaching I will need to make sure and instill confidence In all my students, teach them that they can achieve anything and everything with hard work. I am Irish American. I feel that this is important what so ever in my ultra background. I even really know what I was until asked my parents. Curtis is African American. He feels that this, along with class, is the most important foundation of his cultural background. He feels that you help these two, yet these can Impair or help you. Race, however, we both feel has no factor in either of our cultural backgrounds, or with the way we perceive the world, and neither one of us had anyone in the family with disabilities. All of these will be important in the classroom, depending on how important it is to each individual student. Language can be different due to any or all of the factors already mentioned; however, myself and Curtis both speak English even though we have very dissimilar backgrounds. Language Is not Important, In me and eyes, because we live in a society where this is the only official language, so there is no need to speak anything else. Some students speak English or it is their second language. These students will need special attention and methods in order to help them learn at the same pace and level in my classroom. Both our ages are twenty three. We both feel this is very important In our Docudramas, Owe to Tie experiences Ana experiences Walt toner cultures. Tater Down of us attending college and meeting a lot more people with a lot different backgrounds than our own, it has opened our eyes (so to speak). Life experiences are an essential part in the learning process. When teaching you must use methods that relate to your students; therefore, age would be crucial when trying to relate material to a everyday life. I grew up Catholic. My dad was Protestant, while my mom was Catholic. Religion was more important to my mother so we went to a Catholic church every Sunday. As much as a hate to say it, religion was Just not a factor at all in my cultural background. To tell you the truth I think religion is based on an already instilled cultural background and it only refines or defines existing culture. I really base anything I do on religion and actually have come to look at it sociologically. One of my favorite quotes: God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him?C,-1?0 (Voltaire). Now this mean I don? believe in God, but it still rings very very true. I think religion has shaped me at all. Curtis, on the other hand, believes his religion has a little more relevance to his cultural background. He grew up Christian until his switch to Islam in high school, or at least that he now considers himself Muslim. When talking about his religion it seemed he know much about religion really, why he made this switch I know. The switch most likely was due to peers and his paranoia of the government. I would say he is very anti- establishment. So he says that it is moderately important, but I believe that it has that much of to do with his cultural background. It is very important not to ring religion into the classroom, but it does not mean you should not be aware of your religious beliefs (especially if they were that important). As you can see there are many differences in backgrounds and how backgrounds shape them. Subsequently, teachers must make sure to take these things into account when trying to effectively teach students in public schools. Our country is becoming more diverse as the years go on, only adding to why we must do this and come up with better, and more effective, methods of teaching. We must not leave students from different backgrounds behind.

Respone Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Respone - Case Study Example This excerpt brings out Alice as a hard working. I was especially moved by the fact that even though she had worked her way up to become a biomedical engineer, she was still able to deliver the free medical supplies in poor countries. As a result, she feels that she has made a difference. However, the author points out that Alice was fascinated by the trips to South America and Africa (Sheehan 634). This is quite confusing since the trips are quiet out of the objectives of the company. I therefore did not get the connection between the fulfillments that Alice got and the deliverance of medical supply. In my opinion, the act of hiring Zigda to redesign their website is quite commendable. In fact, Zigda worked at a smaller fee than usual. This reduced the company’s expenses which is the dream of every rational manager. I however felt that with the knowledge that Zigda had concerning soft-wares would enable them to know that it would be hard for computers, more so in Africa and South America to Access the website. It was therefore clear that the author was trying to show how Zigda, with or without the knowledge of Kent, was trying to lock out the communication channel between them and the poor countries. In my opinion, I felt that the company had diverged from its core objective and responsibility and therefore Alice needed to be brave and tell Kent, the manager, how the website had hindered the effective communication between the organization and the individuals from the poor countries. Employers and employees have constantly found it hard to associate with relative ease to each other, more so on the social aspects. Socialization is however a process that cannot be avoided at all costs. In this excerpt, Henry is faced by a dilemma on whether to accept Hamilton’s Facebook friend request or not. This paper therefore aims at what Henry should do in order to eliminate this problem. Firstly, I