Thomas Eakins Painting "The Swimming Hole" With Essay

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Thomas Eakins painting "the swimming hole" with the section #11 of whitmans "song of myself"

Thomas Eakins' 1884 painting "The Swimming Hole" and Walt Whitman's eleventh section in the 1867 poem "Song of Myself" both address the prudery present contemporary to them in an attempt to have their public understand more regarding life's freedoms. These artworks employ straightforward eroticism meant to impress audiences through the concepts that it addresses. Both the painting and the poem generated much tension in the critic world, especially given that the public seemed intrigued with the controversial concepts that they put across. It is difficult to determine whether Whitman's poem is similar to Eakins' painting when considering the concepts that each artwork is meant to put across.

It is very probable that these two artists portrayed young men bathing together because they knew that this was not particularly strange for that era. However, the fact that they tend to associate erotic themes with this image makes it possible for the public to observe that these artworks are not as ordinary as they might initially appear to be. While Eakins seems to feel little to no hesitation about expressing his thinking, Whitman seems to be more reserved regarding his personal convictions, considering that he uses the young woman with the purpose of emphasizing the voyeurism associated with several men as they bathe together.

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It appears that the poet wants readers to acknowledge that society still has problems when considering its attitude in regard to certain basic freedoms.

The woman in Whitman's poem is restrained by society's codes and is attracted by the liberty she observes in the group of men bathing by the water. The fact that she joins them (or, at least she….....

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