Whitman and the Transformation of a Nation, do you accept the promise, history homework help

Answer the following questions in your discussion forum posting. Use complete sentences and incorporate textual evidence from the poem (this is considered primary source material) where necessary. *You can number your responses in your original post for clarity. There is no word count requirement for your response, but you must adequately answer each question.

  • In part eight of “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” Whitman asks “We understand then do we not?/ What I promis’d without mentioning it, have you not accepted it?” (70). What is the reader to understand and what has Whitman promised? Do you accept this promise? Why or why not?
  • What is Whitman’s thesis or argument of this poem? Try to write what you consider to be his purpose in one or two sentences and support your response with textual evidence.
  • Though “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” was originally written in 1856, Whitman revised it for publication in 1881. How do you think the poem might be a response to all of the changes that were happening in the country after 1865? Does Whitman offer any sort of solutions? How does the poem reflect democratic values? (View the definition of democracy here: Democracy Definition). Use the information from the “Transformation of a Nation” reading in the Norton (pgs. 3-17) as well as the Transformation of a Nation PowerPoint and Handout to help you with this question.

Once you have answered all of these questions, respond to at least one classmate’s response to either question two or three. Do you agree or disagree with their assessment of the poem’s thesis or how it might act as a response to the changes the United States was experiencing? Your response to a classmate should be a minimum of 100 words and use complete sentences.

Don’t forget to proofread/edit all discussion forum postings. If I can’t make sense of your sentences because of grammar or mechanics, you will lost a significant amount of points.You should also use a correct MLA citation for all textual evidence. For help with MLA formatting see: In-Text Citations.