Through his work in poetry, literature, and other media, Walt Whitman is often considered the one of the most important American writers and theorists. He arguably popularized all-American literature with his work, injecting American writing into an era when only genteel, traditionalist European literature was taught in college. As his epic from Leaves of Grass, “Song of Myself,” in which the speaker is not the voice of a single man but that of the people as a whole, shows, Whitman believed in the identity of all people. men, the natural law of diversity, the power and strength of the democratic process and deism. Additionally, Whitman's writing style was successful in creating a uniquely American character that represented people of all castes, religions, and backgrounds. Because of his captivating social expositions on the dream of "freedom" in American society and his ability, through his literature, to give a "voice" to ordinary American people, Walt Whitman is considered the center of the American literary canon. and the poet of democracy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Many might say that Walt Whitman was ideologically “ahead” of his time; a progressive in an era that preceded the progressive movement of the early 20th century. Unlike the influential oligarchs of the Gilded Age, who bought and sold publics and politicians at will with their enormous industrial wealth, Whitman was a proponent of the power of the common man and his influence in the democratic process; he actually gave new meaning to the common man, through his literary works, by enabling him to recognize his own importance in society. He preached confidence and individuality to his readers, “[instilling] the lesson of ennobling self-esteem.” He [taught] the Negro that "there is no fat sweeter than that which sticks to his own bones." He urged him not to accept anything that "insults his own soul." This type of self-esteem would ultimately lead to the expression of new literary modalities, typically black in origin” (56, Whitman and the Black Poet). Whitman attempted to show African Americans, who were living in the chains of racism and slavery at the time, that their fate mattered and that although their bodies were chained, their souls were free. Moreover, he raised American literature above ignorance. of the dominant African-American aesthetic. In modern American literature, black people were portrayed either as helpless, heavily stereotyped, brutal, or as victims of their own fate and suffering. Whitman, however, elevated his work to a more free and open level, ignoring this "black aesthetic" common in American literature and choosing instead to depict black people in his work as mere equals to all others, whom he s acts of the worker, the businessman or the businessman. the curious woman. For example, in “Song of Myself,” the speaker shelters and cares for a devoted runaway slave on a trip to the North, sitting together at the dinner table as equals while “[ his] fireguard rested in a corner” (Whitman, section 10), as would be the case during the visit of a friendly guest. This denial of racial exclusion in his work, which made Whitman famous and which stood in stark contrast to the blatant ignorance and racism of 19th century America, is what elevated Whitman to the center of the literary scene American. He challenged the literary norms of his..