The vestiges of Whitman's Song of Myself, can be found in contemporary works such as Allen Ginsberg's epic, Howl, and in Sometimes a Great Notion, by Ken Kesey. Though, pessimist that I am, I presumed Whitman's creation of our Nation would reflect our current xenophobic, anti-intellectual one, I found that it didn't. Disappointing, right? Whitman presents an inclusive edict, one which is as brawling and wild as the country it describes. He calls out to, and praises even, those with "slow stepping feet", whose words are "simple as grass". While he may not be including the racial others of the time in his Nation, he at least shows compassion for the economic and social others who minorities would inevitably, by default, become. His work is repetitive, even being described as a chant. This contrasts starkly with the method of expression used by Emily Dickinson. Whereas Whitman's effect can be described as being positively extroverted, Dickinson's is the opposite. While speaking in subtle, simple, terms, Dickinson explores questions about death, the past, and identity. Whitman, on the other hand, positively tackles these issues, making an almost authoritarian pronunciation about them. Dickinson inverts the complexities of nature whereas Whitman expounds them, throwing them into an accusatory light. For example, Whitman strives to answer the perpetual question about life after death citing the law of Thermodynamics. While Whitman paint's a picture of a Nation, of which, perhaps Dickinson is a part, Dickinson identifies the place of an individual within a society of perceived individuals.
While Whitman might not be as xenophobic as we are today, or as racist, you have to take into consideration that he lived in 19th century America, a world that felt both isolated and threatened. Nice point about Dickinson's inversions.
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