Response for "Song of Myself"

[shenmue37]

There is a lot going on in "Song of Myself". Whitman is being
pompous and arrogant in parts of the poem but I think that what we
might take as pompous is really honesty. I think that Whitman was
simply stating what was going through his mind. Everyone thinks it
but he actually wrote it down. At the same time though I think that
by listing all the different things that he is, Whitman is showing
acceptance to everyone.

"I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise,
Regardless of others, ever regardful of others. Maternal as well as
paternal, a child as well as a man, Stuff'd with the stuff that is
coarse and stuff'd with the stuff that is fine, One of the Nation of
many nations, the smallest the same and the largest the same, A
Southerner soon as a Northerner."

I think Whitman just wants to experience everything the world
has to offer and he feels that the best way to do that is to get in
touch with all different kinds of people. It may seem like he is
putting himself on a pedestal but I think Whitman is excited and that
he feels in touch with everybody. It's not that he feels as though he
could do anything but he feels a connection with all things.

I think that Whitman shows this the best with the quote "I
resist anything better than my own diversity." Essentially Whitman is
saying that he is always ready to learn or discover something new. He
is welcoming any new challenge because of his hunger for knowledge and
personal growth. All in all I think that "Song of Myself" is not
written with an attitude of pompousness but instead is eager and
excited.