“Consider, you who peruse me, whether I may be not in unknown ways be looking upon you”(p.25 line 112)

"I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.
One world is aware, and by the far the largest to me, and that is myself,
And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait." -Walt Whitman

            I would guess that he was laughing a little bit when he wrote this line. It's like he's turning the tables on us, making us feel uneasy. We may think we're in our room reading in private, but he could secretly be watching us. Who knows for certain? He knows that we don't know and is using that ambiguity to make us feel a deeper connection to him. The more we can connect or relate with the author the more likely it is that we enjoy their work. As long as it's not boring. “Looking down upon us” seems to grant him superiority over the reader. He is so aware that his perception and interpretation of life is analogous to everyone else's that he has the advantage of knowing what someone is thinking at any given time given their situation. He can guess that we feel in control because we are reading his deep emotions and he counteracts our enhanced observation skills by letting us know he just may be observing us.

            In this poem we are looking into the mind and experiences of Walt Whitman. He makes a point that almost all of what we experience has been experienced before and will be experienced countless times in the future despite our urge to feel unique. We feel obligated to put emphasis on our individuality but at the same time realize we share so much in common with our fellow humans that we might as well be them. We should also never let our urge to be different be overwhelming or be a burden on us because our similarities are so vast. It would be silly to feel alone when so many other people past, present and future share the exact same feelings. This common feeling brings us together, is overpowering and somewhat spiritual. Whitman wants us to consider that though we may feel like we are getting a glimpse into his personal life, we are merely reading about things which we ourselves have already done or felt. His use of the word “you” stands out because in the surrounding text he hasn't been so direct. It's a direct threat to us because we are now stripped of our ability to blend in with the thousands and thousands of others who read his words. He's no longer just speaking to the readers, he's in my face talking to me. There is definitely a positive effect to being so straight forward. I feel special when I think the author wrote these words especially for me. He's exploiting our desire to stand out in the crowd by pulling us aside and getting some one on one time in with us.

"Walt Whitman Quotes." Share Book Recommendations With Your Friends, Join Book Clubs, Answer Trivia. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1438.Walt_Whitman>.