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Whitman, although not my favorite reading, has an absolute place in our study of the evolution of literature. It is amazing to see the differences between two pieces of writing that deal with many of the same topics, but in completely opposite ways. Whitman was clearly someone who believed in his own way of viewing the world, and that is what makes him so special, and such an important piece of this course. I am learning so much just from trying to imagine the way he views the world. He is observant, yet distant, and so in tune with all people, and yet he understands that the people he notices are not the same as him. I disagree with whoever in class said that he doesn't accept that people have differences. I don't think Whitman is creepy for trying to lessen the distance between all people. People are not as different as we try to believe we are. The things that we view as differences are tiny, but we notice them because they are really the only things that separate us all, and without some amount of separation, we would live a sad and pathetic life, thinking that our being means nothing, as there are many more where each of us came from. Differences define us, yes, but at the same time, our similarities define us just as much. We just have yet to accept it.