"Beginners" by Walt Whitman

"Beginners" is a poem written by Walt Whitman. In it, he describes beginners in general; he describes the positives, the negatives, and just how the typical beginner acts in a situation (Whitman). In that way, he is describing the "every man;" a concept commonly written about by Whitman in which he describes how every man is, in theory, the same as any other man. Since every person is derived from the same being, according to the author, everybody contains the same basic structure and function and therefore are alike to the point where "every man" is kind of the same. When Whitman takes the average "beginner" and makes a generalization such as the ones he makes in "Beginners," it is obvious that he is creating another example of the "every man" (Oliver). It was said that Whitman used to walk to streets of New York and Boston, just talking to random people in order for Whitman to get a sense of their selves (Oliver). In doing this, Whitman created his own opinions of how a beginner typically acts, therefore creating his idea of the beginning "every man."

Whitman's poem "Beginners" struck me in a different way than many of his other poems had struck me. While I typically see Whitman as a self concerned, conceited, and biased writer, I actually received intellectual insight from this poem. My favorite line from the work is "How people respond to them, yet know them not..." (Whitman). I think this is an incredibly simple yet insightful statement to write about beginners. It is so true. When one is beginning an activity, or is acting as a beginner at a new feat, other people respond to them in judge them in ways that are absurd. For example, in high school, the freshman are the beginners. The first few days, weeks, and months of school, everybody is judging them. The older students look at how the freshman act, dress, talk, and look, and based on these judgments, opinions are made and the older students react accordingly. Without even knowing a thing about these individuals, the older students are quick to judge and react. Being a beginner at any activity is frightening enough, as usually one just wants to impress the more accomplished individuals in the field. With biased or incorrect judgments and reactions, beginners are kind of thrown into an awkward and difficult position that Whitman portrayed very well in his poem. While he covered many different aspects of beginners in the poem, this statement stuck out the most to me.

On the contrary, Whitman did also cover the aspect of beginners acting in annoying and showy behaviors. This is also very true; many individuals, in order to prove themselves worthy, experienced, or tough enough, seem to show off for those who have already had more experience in a situation. This often leads to the beginners being viewed as even more inexperienced than they would have been seen before, as well as being seen as immature and almost silly. Whitman actually does a great job covering the different aspects of being a beginner in this work of literature. Whitman's poem "Beginners" was an intellectual and insightful piece of poetry.

WORKS CITED

Oliver, Charles M. "'Beginners'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW052&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 1, 2011).

Whitman, Walt. "Beginners." Leaves of Grass. 1990. Web. 01 Mar. 2011.