Topic > Walt Whitman's take on American glory in I Hear America Singing

America is made up of hard-working, dedicated individuals who love to do what they do. Walt Whitman's I Hear America Singing focuses on the glory that America America owns when its people work and when they work doing what they love, which encapsulates the idea of ​​a country built on hard work. What makes this poem effective in representing this idea is the fact that Whitman mentions people who contribute to the structure of America in many ways. He mentions carpenters and bricklayers, who physically built America, and he mentions boatmen and shoemakers, who build the American economy. One person he mentions, however, builds America in a completely different way: emotionally. Whitman states that a mother, or a young wife, is singing and that this singing may be found delightful. Regardless of who it is, it can be assumed that everyone likes what they like and that this joy is expressed in singing. Whitman states that a carpenter and a bricklayer sing as they work, implying that they are happy and joyful in their work. The carpenter, "singing as he measures his board," (4) and the bricklayer, "singing as he prepares for work," (6) show that these two are joyful in their work and express this joy through singing. This contributes to the theme of joy through creation because as the carpenter and bricklayer work, creating civilization, they are completely satisfied with it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Two other people mentioned by Whitman are the ones who build the American economy. Both the shoemaker and the boatman create the economy because they have a variety of goods at their disposal. This ties into the theme of building on many levels because, like the bricklayer and the carpenter, the shoemaker and the boatman create the foundation for America and they too are fulfilled and happy while doing so. The last person Whitman mentions in the poem is completely different from the first because what carpenters, bricklayers, boatmen, and shoemakers do for America is tangible and is evident nationwide. Unlike these four, a mother, or a young wife as Whitman would say, creates the emotional and ideological structure of America. The process for doing so is also different from the other four examples because it is also a nationwide effort to develop ideas in America. This is an example of creation on many levels because a wife or mother is not working with any hardware when creating ideas through the minds of her children, yet her children will one day be important because they will ultimately inherit the country, so to speak. . The themes of creation on many levels and joy through creation in I Hear America Singing, while not common to all of the people mentioned, are important to the poem because they show that although what some people do for their country may not be so difficult for everyone, the results of their actions could still be crucial to the structure of America.