Part VI, Song of Myself

Growing among black folks as among white,

Kanuck, Tackahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them

the same, I receive them the same. 

In this poem Walt Whitman discusses the question asked by a child, "What is the grass?". Like Whitman does in most of his works, he takes a simple question and gives a very un-simple answer. His answer to the literal question is a figurative answer. In this case, he describes the grass as the cycle of life, or a symbol for equality since the life cycle is the same for everybody; we are born, we live, and then we die.
These specific lines of the poem demonstrate how Whitman sees different groups of people and how the "grass" effects them. This poem was written at a time when people like African-Americans were looked down upon and segregated because of the color of their skin. These lines show how Whitman felt about the segregation of different types of people. To him, everybody was the same no matter the color of their skin, where they were from, or the job they had. The life cycle was the same for everybody. If talking in figurative forms, the grass grows everywhere no matter what because the life cycle is the same for everyone. This poem shows Whitman's view of American in a disguised form. 

Reflect on a moment (or event, or person, or...?) in your life that has played a significant role in shaping who you are today?

MASON

Summer going into my junior year I watched my friend Mason pass away. I had never experience death before. No one in my extended family had ever passed away so the concept of death was brand new to me. I literally did not know what to do. Mason and I were so close he was like my brother, and the thought of him gone did not make sense to me. That summer was really hard on everybody. The only good thing that came out of it is that my friend group, boys and girls, became insanely close. We all spent almost every waking minute together because we needed each other to feel whole again. When we would be together people would always reflect on memories they had with him or say they wish they had more. The death of Mason has taught me that I need to make more good memories. I know that life can end in any second and I don’t want to regret not creating memories with that person. Everyone who knew Mason knew that he was always ready for a good time no matter the circumstances. I now try to live my life like he did. On the weekends and at school I try to be the nicest I can to the people around me. I strive to create memories with all of my friends that we can look back on and be so thankful we did that.

Socratic Seminar: End-of-Book, Lewis' Warning to Humanity

During the socratic seminar the thing that stood out to me the most is what we considered to be evil was different when talking about animals versus humans. When talking about what evil means to humans we all came up with the same answer. Killing somebody is always always considered evil. But then somebody asked the question, "What about animals? If a bear kills another animal is that evil?" Many people replied to this question, "no". I agree that an animal killing another animal is not considered evil because that is the only way many animals can get their food. Animals do not have the luxury we have of walking into a market and buying food that they can eat. But then I got confused. How can we define evil if it is different to every species?

Thinking about this over the past day, I've made the conclusion that "evil" cannot be universally defined. Everybody's interpretation of evil is different and special to them. Many people still to this day would consider being gay, lesbian, transexual, etc. as evil. They think of these people in a evil way just because they are considered "different". I for one do not believe those people are considered evil at all. They are just normal people like anybody else. This is only one example of how I believe defining evil is different for everybody.

I do not think we should try and define evil in a universal way. Everybody has the right to decide what they think is evil and what they think is not. If we define evil then we are forcing people to all believe the same idea of evil, and to me forcing people to believe something is considered evil. But that's just me.