A Comparison of Song of Myself by Walt Whitman and The Open Boat by Stephen Crane

One of the most common ideas explored in literature is man‘s connection to the universe. Both Walt Whitman’s Song ofMyseIfand Stephen Crane’s The Open Boat examine how man is connected to nature and the universe, but they take different stances on this subject. While Song of Myself is largely concerned with the idea that all people have some sort of deep connection to the universe, The Open Boat expresses the opposite opinion; The Open Boat is about man‘s insignificance in the universe rather than his connection to it.

In Song of Myself, Whitman discusses a wide range of topics, many of which are seemingly unrelated However, despite the lack of a distinct, singular theme to the poem, one of the most important ideas addressed in the poem is man’s connection to nature. Although Whitman writes about himself and his own opinions on this topic, the things he says are really meant to apply to everyone rather than just him, Instead of expressing his thoughts by writing about society or people in general.

Whitman chooses a much more indirect and personal approach. In the first section of the poem on lines 6 and 7, Whitman says that he is “formed from this soil, this air” just like his parents who were “born here from parents the same.” What he really means is that everyone is connected to nature, and all people are even a part of nature in a way, but he uses himself as an example to express this belief.

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This idea that everyone has a deep connection to the universe is continued throughout the poem, right up until the final section. On lines 9 and 10 of section 52, Whitman says “I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love, if you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.” What he means by this is that he will return to nature upon his death, which is where he, and therefore everyone, came from.

Much like Song ofMyself, an important theme in The Open Boat is man’s place in the universe. However, The Open Boat takes an entirely different stance. In The Open Boat, Stephen Crane describes the tale of four survivors of a sunken ship stranded on a lifeboat together who learn a valuable lesson about nature through theirjourney. In the final paragraph of the story, the three surviving men are described as now interpreters for the “great sea’s voice,” so they must have learned something from their experience that gave Lhem this ability. It seems that the lesson that the surviving men learned is that nature is indifferent to man, and that nature and man do not necessarily get along. In The Open Boat, there is no justice in nature; the things that happen in nature just happen without any special regard for humanity The death of the oiler, who is the only one of the four men to die, serves as an example of nature’s indifference.

The oiler seems to be just as good or better than all the other men is almost every way He works hard and remains hopeful despite the circumstances, but yet he is the only one to die, His death implies that nature is not inherently goodt Although nature is depicted in a very negative light in The Open Boat, humanity is shown in a very positive way, There are no bad people in The Open Boat; in fact, all of the characters are shown to be good people overall. The four crewmembers all do their best and are never shown to have any significant flaws. Even the briefly mentioned men and women who help to rescue the crewmembers are helpful and kind. The man who swims out to rescue them is even described as saintly: “He was naked, naked as a tree in winter, but a halo was about his head, and he shone like a saint”.

People are portrayed as being innately good in The Open Boat, which strongly contrasts the way nature is depicted, The Open Boat and Song ofMyselfare almost polar opposites when it comes to their depictions of nature and man’s connection to it While Song ofMyself describes man’s connection to nature, The Open Boat portrays nature as indifferent or even hostile to mankind. These two pieces of literature also go about expressing these ideas in completely different ways. Song o/Myself takes a very personal route, whereas The Open Boat is less personal. Although The Open Boat and Song of Myself are similar in the topic that they are primarily about, they take completely different stances on and approaches to this topic.