The Big Idea
Whitman compiles decades of journals, travelogues, and literary critiques to define the American character outside of his poetry. He moves from the bloody reality of the Civil War — where he observes yellow-jacketed cavalry in the rain and the 'hell-scenes' of Union prisoners — to the quiet woods of Concord and the booming industrialism of Denver. The work captures the physical grit of a growing nation, detailing the specific weight of silver bricks and the 'animal' sociability of Western soldiers. Throughout, Whitman argues for a primal American literature that abandons European imitation in favor of a voice that smacks of living, physical identity.
Who's named
- Abraham Lincoln
The martyred president whose daily Washington habits Whitman closely observed.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Concord philosopher whose family dinner and grave site Whitman visits.
- Margaret Fuller
Writer whose warning against unoriginal American literature Whitman cites.
- First Regiment U. S. Color'd Troops
Black soldiers whose bravery and first payday Whitman documents in 1863.
What it's really about
- Democratic Vistas
- The belief that America’s culmination is independent, moderate-sized ownership for all.
- Physical Identity
- A rejection of convention for writing that 'smacks' of the body.
Why it's memorable
- A foreman shoveling silver flakes like beans with a small wooden shovel in Denver.
- Whitman adding a single stone to the cairn marking Thoreau's house at Walden Pond.
What it concludes
The author concludes that his final writings are a 'garrulous' attempt to face old age and death while maintaining his specific physical identity.
For your book club
- Whether a nation’s literature can ever truly separate itself from its 'offshoot' European origins.
- The contrast between the 'animal' qualities of Western soldiers and their slower intellectual movements.