'Breaking Barriers' Annotated Bibliography - Research Paper Example

The central theme of my annotated bibliography is ‘Breaking Barriers.’ In the early 1800’s, a new trend started in the writing society. Many writers chose to end their silence on controversial issues and took a stand (Whitman, Lowenfels and Brymer). I will use various sources to find areas where Whitman chose to do something different from the cultural norm, or where he simply decided to make a turnaround in his life. Bloom, Harold. Walt Whitman. New York: InfoBase Publishing, 2008 Harold Bloom describes Whitman’s work, Leaves of Grass in his book, Walt Whitman.

The main theme in the poem he says is slavery. In this poem, Whitman chose to advocate for equality between white men and black men, who were the slaves of white men at the time. Bloom’s argument is that the poem, Leaves of Grass shows the volatile side of Walt Whitman. He quotes a line in the poem which says, “I go with slaves equally with masters.” Whitman worked as a journalist at the time he was writing this poem. His job involved serving the wants of middle class American class. The poem cost Whitman his job at the magazine, Eagle, where he was the editor.

Bloom attributes Whitman’s adamancy to support slavery to a trip which Whitman made to New Orleans. Whitman was able to interact with black people during his stay at New Orleans. He was in love with the town and its inhabitants. However, he was disappointed with the undignified treatment blacks underwent through slavery. He wrote the poem ‘I sing body electric’ to express his disgust with slavery. Bloom clearly underlines the direction from the norm that Whitman took in his writing career (Bloom).

Kummings, Donald D. A Companion to Walt Whitman. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2009 Kummings Donald in his book, A Companion for Walt Whitman, underscores a controversial area that Whitman took in his life. This is Whitman’s preference for homoerotic love. In the 1800’s, a sexual revolution had started. Writers expressed their sexuality freely and among them was Walt Whitman. Whitman was inspired by his lover Vaughan to write the poem “Live Oak with Moss” (Kummings). In the poem series Children of Adams, Whitman explains in detail various body parts, which was symbolic of his identification with the sexual revolution.

Kummings dwells on the life of Walt Whitman more than his working life. Through his emphasis, I noted that Whitman was a strong adherent of the sexual identity movement in his work and personal, as indicated by his involvement with an Irish sailor called Vaughan and later in his life, Peter Doyle (Kummings). Cole, Garold. Civil War Eyewitnesses. Raleigh: University of South Carolina Press, 2009 Cole Garold, in his book Cold War Eyewitnesses tells of Whitman’s work as a nurse in the Civil War.

Whitman left his job as an office clerk to tend to the wounds of soldiers victimized by war. Carol’s argument is that Whitman showed a compassionate side of him as opposed to the controversial side of him that he had earlier shown. Whitman began his work in 1860 after he quit drinking. Drinking was a trend in his previous life that he wanted to cut off. Cole explains how Whitman’s visits to Broadway Hospital slowly became a part of Whitman’s being until in 1862 when he became fully involved on the battle field.

Cole’s second argument is that Whitman’s transition from a bohemian writer to a civil war writer is what made Whitman a revolutionary writer. Whitman wrote ‘A sight in camp’ during his time as a nurse (Cole). I agree with Cole on this. In my opinion also, Whitman’s decision to join the battlefield as a nurse is an example of a barrier that Whitman crossed. Loving, Jerome. Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007 Jerome Loving in his book ‘Walt Whitman: A song of himself” explores many details of Whitman’s work including his support for feminism.

Loving says that Whitman foresaw a time when women and men were equal. Loving eludes nature in Whitman’s poem, Leaves of Grass to women. Loving argues that nature has the tendency to create. Loving insists on Whitman’s feminism by indirectly quoting Whitman in Democratic Vistas where Whitman expressed his desire to see American women get liberalized sexually (Loving). Morris, Roy. The Better Angel: Walt Whitman in the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 Morris Roy, in ‘The Better Angel’ takes us back to the civil war years.

Morris focuses on Whitman’s years as a nurse on the battlefield in Washington D.C. Morris contends that Whitman’s separation from friends and family at this time was a noble sacrifice. He underlines Whitman’s passion by demonstrating Whitman’s kindness to the injured men. Morris says “The younger soldiers thought that they could see Saint Nick in him.” In my view, Whitman’s generosity at a time of war should not be ignored. It is an act of bravery that can be singled out among many.

This quality falls under the definition of ‘breaking barriers’ (Morris). Reynolds, David S. Walt Whitman’s America: A Cultural Biography. New York. Vintage Press, 2008 David Reynolds’s talks of Whitman’s unique attitude when was interacting with people from different races and religious backgrounds. Racial discrimination was rife before the civil war. Reynolds describes Whitman’s dislike for the Democrats who advocated for slavery by all means. Reynolds describes Whitman’s beautiful trip to New Orleans and how Whitman related to the ferryboat workers at Brooklyn.

Reynolds explains that Whitman was a keen listener to the worker’s stories. In Whitman’s eyes, there were no classes of human beings. All were the same (Reynolds). His unique attitude towards diverse people counts as a change in the status quo (Reynolds). Whitman, Walt, Walter Lawenfels and Nan Brymer. Walt Whitman’s Civil War. Cambridge. Da Capo Press, 2004. Lawenfels et al. focus on the years Whitman served in the battlefield as a nurse. Whitman tells of the anxiety he had when looking for his brother who was presumed.

His promise to his mother was that he would only go back him if he found his brother. He finally found his brother George. The book explains how Whitman supported all his siblings. He often visited his sister who was married to an alcoholic because he was worried about her (Whitman, Lowenfels and Brymer). In my opinion, this book contributes to this bibliography, but in a small measure because of his exceptional acts of generosity to his family. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Walt Whitman. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2008. Press. Cole, Garold.

Civil War Eyewitnesses. Raleigh: University of South Carolina Press, 2009. Press. Kummings, Donald D. A Companion to Walt Whitham. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Press. Loving, Jerome. Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself. Berkeley: University of Carlifonia Press, 2007. Press. Morris, Roy. The Better Angel: Walt Whitman in the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Press. Reynolds, David S. Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography. New York: Vintage Books, 2005. Press. Whitman, Walt, Walter Lowenfels and Nan Brymer.

Walt Whitman's Civil War. Cambridge: Da Capo Press, 2004. Press.