Brian for Oct 06 — George Washington [Whitman]
My post stems from part of the poem, “Virginia–The West”
Part of Whitman’s struggle is reflected in the final line:
“For you provided me Washington–and now these also.”
Having previously sung the praises of the new nation and its possibilities, Whitman is baffled that the very land that gave the nation its greatest hero prior to Lincoln [and the namesake for Whitman’s brother George] is the same land that produced those trying to break up the nation.
As we discussed in class, for Whitman America was to produce greatness down through the generations, and yet this generation of Virginians had gone in reverse direction from all the heroism of the General and first President.
Also, it was in Virginia that Whitman’s brother George Washington Whitman was injured during the war.
It was after visiting his brother in the hospital in December of 1962 that Whitman moved to the area and spent nearly all his free time volunteering as a nurse in the war hospitals for the next three years.
This poem reflects a time that profoundly impacted and inspired Whitman’s life and writings on war. This last point on the war injury to Whitman’s brother is especially poignant with regard to the last line of the poem: Virginia provided [George] Washington, who provided life to Whitman’s brother [symbolically at least, through name]. But Virginia also provided those who tried to kill George Washington Whitman, and thus alone provided the fatherstuff of civil war.
October 11th, 2009 at 11:43 am
It is very interesting to see the best and worst of an area but more importantly a time period. George Washington was the greatest American before there even was an America. Aside from Whitman’s Writings we know he and his family were very patriotic and political. George Washington Whitman’s name is testament to that. Great picture of George by the way i can certainly see the resemblance of Walt.