Whitman in the Preface to Term Paper

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2. The first portion of "Song of Myself" describes the narrator's encounter with a runaway slave. Here, Whitman places the narration in historical context while making overt social commentary and declaring his political views. When he states, "he staid with me a week" the narrator emphasizes his role in helping the runaway reach safety. He not only "brought water and filled a tub for his sweated body and bruised feet," but he "gave him a room that entered from my own." The latter is a significant line, showing the narrator's empathy, his willingness to help a perfect stranger and let him sleep so near to his own bed for a week or however long the man needed to rest before reaching the North.


Moreover, Whitman's spelling of the word "staid" is sometimes changed to "stayed" but as the poet wrote it the term can be taken two ways. The word "staid" means sedate or calm and the narrator possibly alludes to the overall tone of the anecdote, the amicable way the two men related at that pivotal moment in….....

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