tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post3578315679277979606..comments2024-03-26T22:47:45.276-07:00Comments on Intro to Critical Reading: Grass EverywhereAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post-76249303360281393402011-02-06T20:44:18.390-08:002011-02-06T20:44:18.390-08:00I would have to say that this essay is pretty well...I would have to say that this essay is pretty well written and well organized. It's interesting how you interpreted Whitman's view of death as being necessary for democracy. I realized that he was talking about life and death, but I didn't think that he was talking about democracy the first time that I read this poem.<br /><br />I agree with the arguments that you think Marcuse and Whitman would make, but it would be nice if you were to give more quotes to enforce these arguments.Tom Hoganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03968195837846256764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post-86149384656185772472011-02-06T09:56:54.547-08:002011-02-06T09:56:54.547-08:00This flows very well throughout, which makes the b...This flows very well throughout, which makes the beginning of the essay, especially, engaging. But a number of problems accumulate throughout, in spite of the clarity and directness of your language. <br /><br />Take, for instance, the multiple references to "the current state of war". What war is this? Our edition is the 1855 edition; this is well after the Mexican-American war and well before the civil war. So do you think that Whitman is meditating on the Mexican-American war? On various conflicts with Indian tribes? This is an example of how you toss of an idea that seems fine at first, but doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.<br /><br />Or take your discussion of Whitman and Marcuse. "At one point found in One Dimensional Man," begins one line. This is actually the *closest* you come to a particular claim made by Marcuse. Everything re: Marcuse remains very high level, very abstract, and while it's not that you're exactly wrong about anything you say about Marcuse, it seems very much as if you're not engaging with him, either. What are you *arguing* about the relationship we could, or should, or shouldn't, be making between Marcuse and Whitman?<br /><br />Short version: this reads well, and the high-level ideas are fine, but especially past the beginning this is vague and general throughout.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com