Through The Eyes Of CHASE…

On Tuesday, November 3rd, our class took place outside of our usual environment. Professor Gold requested that we all meet at a local library called the Brooklyn Historical Science [BHS]. Previously known as Long Island Historical Science, this library is the best place to go if one is researching or attempting to find out more about the city of Brooklyn in reference to how it was many years ago & who lived where, when, & with who during a specific date/time.

Upon our arrival to BHS, we were greeted by a very nice & welcoming librarian named Lynn. She gave us quite a tour of the place & was well prepared to do so prior to our arrival. She laid out books & resources to show us that would help guide through our next assigned project. There are maps that she presented to us that would he us investigate Whitman’s location. There were even techniques that she showed us in using these maps/almanacs.

All in all, it was quite an informative evening spent at BHS. Everyone in my class, including myself, now have memberships to the museum for the next year! I will soon be returning to the library to work on my research. Hopefully, Lynn is there to help me on set day.

On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, Professor Gold took on a short field trip with one thing on the mind: Where’s Whitman? Our “tour leader” name was Jesse Merandy. As we ‘Walked with Whitman” through downtown Brooklyn, Jesse showed us many things that in some way form of fashion related to Whitman. We saw the building he used to work at which are still up & at used today. No longer a factory, it is currently residential home 2 some.

We also saw where Whitman and many others would take the Brooklyn Ferry into and out of the city. The tour went very well. At the end, a group of us remained in the area and decided to have lunch at a fantastic pizza restaurant called Grimaldi’s. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, do stop by and have a slice or two because they really have the BEST brooklyn pizza!

We’ve started reading up on Whitman’s other book titled, New York: From Manhattan to Montauk, discusses a lot of his thoughts on the Civil War.

The fire of 1835 was one of, if not the worst fire of all time. There were many challenges which caused this fire to get so out of hand. It inflicted so much damage to the city of New York in the area known today as the Financial District.

To bigin with, the fire was said to have occured on a very cold night. It was so cold that the pipes became frozen, causing the water in the fire hydrants to freeze as well. The firemen who were on duty that night had previously worked a long shift the night before so they lacked in energy. The fire spread very fast because of its location. It started off in a very narrow  and congested street in the city and spread like wild fire through the a great amount of stores.

“Mr. Macready commenced and engagement last evening at the Opera-House, Astor Place, and was to have performed the part of “Macbeth,” whilst his arrival, Mr. Forrest, appeared in the same part at the Broadway theater.”

-Philip Hone

It has come to my attention that I am not the only one who faces some challenges understanding and graping Walt Whitman’s work. He doesnt follow the rules when it comes to writing poetry. His writing style is often first approached as confusing. But if you give it a chance, you’ll quickly begin to realize that anoyone can relate to Whitman’s work in some form of fashion. And it is though relation that one can truly understand his work.

To understand is to become one with his words… to become one with his words is to attempt to step into into Whitman’s world. You step into his world by completely allowing yourself to become what you are reading. Recall when you were a child and your parents read you a fairytale story. The pictures and words always seem to jump up from out the page and into existence. We understood and personally relived, even for a brief moment, the story that was being read to us. This is how one must attempt to read and undersyand Whitman works.

One way to relate to his work is by understanding that he wants you to know that everything is all about you. What better way to relate to a poertic piece than to actually be in the piece, personally.

The sum of all known value and respect I add up in you whoever you are;

The President is up there in the White House for you… it is not you who are here for him,

The Secretaries act in the bureaus for you… not you here for them,

The Congress convenes every December for you,

Laws, Courts, the forming of states, the charters of cities, the going and coming of commerce and mails are all for you.

As I read about Whitman’s upbringing and his past, I notice that he and I have one or two things in common. Growing up as a child, my family moved all around New York City. I have resided in four out of the five boroughs; all except for Staten Island. Moving around so much meant having to attend a new school ever so often, which I hated. But one thing I did love about it all was the fact that I always got a chance to ride the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and tour the town as I traveled back and forth from school. Now, unlike Whitman, I did not have the joys of riding the ferry. I had the opportunity to explore my neighboring cities and towns via the train systems and the bus routes!

The 19^th century’s world of technology differs so much from todays. If Whitman were present in our era, there are so many more ways from which he could gain insight, resources, and influences to develop even more moving works. I’m quite sure he would spend quite a bit of his time aimlessly traveling the NYC bus and train systems, as well as airplanes even, visiting other neighborhoods, cities, states and countries as he attempts to reach out to more people who would appreciate his literary genre. He would have had the opportunity to write about more than simply the “American Way” or at least be able to compare and contrast different cultures and races. One thing I am almost certain about is that he would remain constant to his idea of us all being one in the same, despite our differences.

Imagine the Internet being present for Whitman’s use. He would probably have at least 500,000 followers on Twitter! And for those of you who do not tweet, that is exceedingly a lot because I barely have 50 followers. But through the many blog posts that he would publish on a daily basis, or have published for him by his assistant, he would become very well known by a lot of people. He would undoubtedly be a celebrity.

“Trippers and askers surround me,
People I meet… The effect upon me of my early life… Of the ward and city I live in… Of the nation,
The latest news… Discoveries, inventions, societies… Authors old and new,
My dinner, dress. Associates, looks, business, compliments, dues,
The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,
The sickness of one of my folks – or of myself… Or ill-doing… Or loss or lack of money… Or depression or exaltation,
They come to me days and nights and go from me again,
But they are not the Me myself.”

Whitman was born and raised in the 19th century. He was exposed to quite a bit throughout his lifetime. He was apart of the civil war & witnessed the abolitionist movement take place. It is certain that had he have been born during the 21st century, many more resources would have been available to him. However, regardless of what would have or could have come about, this does not make his work any less valuable or moving than it is.

Walt Whitman, as an author, has a distingushed manner in which he transfers his thoughts and messages into his work. In reading his work, one realizes that Whitman’s challenge as a was consistency. It was as if he simply had so much information to offer and so many ideas he wanted to share with the world that he made sure to include it all in his poem. Because of this, I often get confused and lost when I read his poem. A lot of times I have to stop myself and go back and re-read certain lines or pages even. I’ve realized that “Leaves of Grass” is a book that I’m going to have to read more than once in order to truly understand his writing and the many messages he’s trying to share with the world.

He opens his poem, “Song Of Myself”, with the idea of there being an “I” and a “you”. These two are connected together as Whitman attempts to make us realize an important fact. He wants us to know that no matter what our viewpoints on man kind may be, we as a nation are all connected and are one in the same. It’s ironic but factual how a lot of issues discussed in his poem are still issues present in our world today. Some of the things that have lead to this huge connection we share today are our history, the trials and tribulations our ancestors have faced, everything that happened in the past – good or bad – that have contributed to our present day existence. It is what makes us all who we are and it’s also what makes us all one human race, despite differences in ethical race/background. This is one of the ways in which I can see Whitman in Brooklyn today. Brooklyn, one of the most diverse cities, has a very large group of residents who always exemplify unity when it comes to being loud and proud to represent the city/town that you come from.

Whitman appears to be a person who is quite in tuned with his human sexuality. He describes the human flesh in a manner in which exemplifies appreciation for both the female and the male anatomy. Quite often, it appears as though he may be a bit homosexual yet hesitant to expose himself. Therefore, he not only speaks about the attributes of a man but also that of a woman. This is understandable as I am very sure that homosexuality was not as accepted back then as it is today. Listen carefully as you read; you can almost hear his voice which sounds calming, gentle, and a bit authoritative as well.

“The beard of the young men glistened with wet, it ran from their long hair,

Little streams passed all over their bodies.

An unseen hand passed over their bodies,

It descended trembling from their temple and ribs.”

Having read these few lines, one can easliy tell that this man has somewhat of an intrest in men… It’s either that or he sure has a way with words. If you as me, I think its both!

“The quadroon girl is sold at the sand…”

During the 19th century in the south, the word quadroon was used to describe African American slaves who were racially mixed. This was basically what they called an offspring of a biracial couple. The couple had to be one where at least one parent was white and the other black or both parents were black and white. The definition of a quadroon is a person who is one-quarter black. Knowing the meaning of this word reminds you that slavery did in fact go on during this period of time and Whitman includes this in his work.

“I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise,

Regardless of other, 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…

A learner with the simplest, a teacher of the thoughtfullest,

A novice beginning yet experiment of myriads of seasons,

Of every hue and caste am I, of every rank and religion.

A farmer, mechanic, artist gentleman, sailor, quaker,

Prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician, priest. “