American Literature "Song of Myself" Stanzas 1-21 Essay

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American Literature

"Song of Myself" stanzas 1-21 by Walt Whitman

Pride in the self and one's perseverance at life

"I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

"I am satisfied -- I see, dance, laugh, sing;"

Equality and the view of American lands

"And it means, sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones, growing among black folks as among white…I give them the same, I receive them the same"

"Along far in the wilds and mountains I hunt, wandering amazed at my own lightness and glee…"

The Hairy Ape by Eugene O'Neill

A view of what industry does to the future of class and American society in cities

"A procession of gaudy marionettes, yet with something of the relentless horror of Frankensteins in their detached, mechanical awareness."

"Where's all de white-collar stiffs yuh said was here -- and de skoits -- her kind?"

B. The return to embracing nature and the natural, animal instincts of humanity

1. "He slips on the floor and dies. The monkeys set up a chattering, whimpering wail. And, perhaps, the Hairy Ape at last belongs."

2. "I seen de sun come up. Dat was pretty, too -- all red and pink and green. I was lookin' at de skyscrapers -- steel -- and de ships comin' in, sailin' out, all over the oith -- and dey was steel, too…on'y I couldn't get in it, see? I couldn't belong in dat."

III. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane

A. Description of the American way of life, poverty in the cities

1. "Eh, child, what is it dis time? Is yer fader beatin' yer mudder, or yer mudder beatin' yer fader?"

2. The tenement housing is "a dark region where…a dozen gruesome doorways gave up loads of babies to the street and the gutter.

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B. Stylized writing, characters living in American cities search for freedom

1. "She wondered if the culture and refinement she has seen imitated, perhaps grotesquely…could be acquired by a girl who lived in a tenement house and worked in a shirt factory."

2. "My home reg'lar livin' hell! Why do I come an' drink' whisk' her thish way? 'Cause home reg'lar livin' hell!"

IV. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

A. An emergence of the need for adventure, free movement, exploration

1. "You know it don't take much intelligence to get yourself into a nailed-up coffin, Laura. But who in hell ever got himself out of one without removing one nail?"

2. "I go to the movies because -- I like adventure. Adventure is something I don't have much of at work, so I go to the movies."

B. A view of changing times, of attempt in adaptation

1. "Well, in the South we had so many servants. Gone, gone, gone. All vestige of gracious living! Gone completely!"

2. To vary that old, old saying a bit -- I married no planter! I married a man who worked for the telephone company!...A telephone man who -- fell in love with long-distance!"

V. "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain

A. Comparison of Western and Eastern America, region and differences in both societies

1. "I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the bar-room stove of the old, dilapidated tavern in the ancient mining camp of Angel's, and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression….....

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