Walt Whitman: Poems

How this poem reflect American society?

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How The poem O Me! O life! By Walt Whitman reflect American society?

Whitman chooses specific images to represent hopelessness in this poem. Both "trains of the faithless" and "cities fill'd with the foolish" evoke the themes of modernization and industrialization. The 1800s were full of new innovations that modernized society, so Whitman was writing against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world. He acknowledges that in the context of rapid development and human achievement, it is easy for human beings to feel useless, inadequate, and ultimately, disappointed with their lives. Whitman admits to feeling this way himself - in fact, his lack of condescension here makes his work highly relatable. He does not offer instructions to fix the problem, but rather, he asks his reader to stop and realize that he or she is contributing to humanity simply by being alive.