My favorite aspect to find in fiction, or to try to create when writing fiction, are snapshots of human lives that seem absolutely, tangibly real. I think that's why I was so fascinated by section 15 of "Song of Myself." Each description reminds me of a candid, unexpectedly revelatory photo, which is why section 15 reminds me so much of Whitman's author portrait. There's a difference between a stuffy old-fashioned author's portrait and the jaunty photograph of Whitman included in Leaves of Grass -- it's surprising to see so much personality from someone a modern reader thinks of as a revered American literary legend. We sometimes forget to imagine people and figures from history as the normal, everyday people they were. Section 15 captures daily life in the nineteenth century and is altogether in the spirit of the "now" which Whitman champions.
For the most part, Whitman presents his characters without judgement, even the "opium-eater". Like a camera, he captures but does not comment. Everyone from a factory girl (294) to the President himself (308) gets the same amount of description. Interestingly, one of the times Whitman does editorialize is to pass judgement on the men harassing the prostitute: "The prostitute draggles her shawl, her bonnet bobs on her tipsy and/ pimpled neck,/ The crowd laugh at her blackguard oath, the men jeer and wink to each other,/ (Miserable! I do not laugh at your oaths nor jeer you;) (304-307). Another interesting aspect of this passage is that Whitman acknowledges himself as an observer.
I like this idea of Whitman (or perhaps the poem's speaker) acting as a sort of camera. This formulation coincides with a connection I see between "Song of Myself" and films like Baraka or Koyaanisqatsi. Just as Whitman attempts to survey life in his poem through a vast array of concrete imagery, so too do filmmakers like Ron Fricke and Godfrey Reggio. The films, however, put the viewer in the place of the observer, the filmmaker's touch hidden from view.
ReplyDeleteThis really made me consider how I view authors when reading their works. I normally picture these authors as old men sitting in a dark room forcing themselves to write these long novels and perhaps due to ignorance, I never thought twice about it. Your point that they were just average people is somewhat inspiring. All of these authors became famous by simply expressing their thoughts and opinions and letting go of societies opinions.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed section 15. I found many of the images easy to relate to and even imagined moments in my life where I may have seen similar scenes. As much as we say the world has changed, I find it humbling to find myself connecting with an author from the 19th century.