Freedom is beautifully illustrated in an endless amount of modern American literature. Freedom can be depicted in different forms, by different artists, from completely different time periods. “Song of Myself,” by Walt Whitman, was first published in 1855. Whitman’s version of freedom plays an important role in “Song of Myself.” Another work that portrays freedom is “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston. Both works, although they differ, illustrate the freedom of both authors in unique ways. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Walt Whitman was known for being quite frank in his discussions of sex and bodily functions which, in his time, were quite revolutionary. However, Walt didn't just discuss these things. In “Song of Myself,” the narrator himself and mankind are huge aspects. Whitman feels that he is connected to all people. “I pass death with the dying and birth with the freshly washed child, and I am not contained between my hat and my boots, I am not an Earth nor an addition of an earth, I am the companion and companion of people, of all as immortal and unfathomable as me...". Walt Whitman explains that he is one with the dying, as well as with newborns. He is not contained by himself and his body. He is the same as all people and is all people. Whitman is mortal and wonders when death will approach. However, it seems that Whitman finds freedom in this feeling instead of feeling trapped by it. The feeling of being one with humanity is liberating for him. Furthermore, Whitman finds freedom in himself. He finds freedom in being himself and knowing that he is human. As Ted Genoways stated in his essay “Inventing Walt Whitman,” “…we see the first example of that most American trick: self-invention. Walt was born into a humble Quaker family on Long Island, and his social position allowed him to rise only briefly as an editor of various small newspapers. Whitman was born into a simple family, not rich but not poor. He found himself unable to improve his social standing, and so transformed himself into a dandy, complete with cane and boutonniere, seeking to increase his status. Whitman shed the fancy clothes in favor of the garb of a common man, with his broad hat tipped back, his thick, untidy beard. “…he stood defiantly, one hand folded at his side, the other stuffed in his pocket…he posed with his collar open, revealing a workman’s T-shirt. And this new character required a new name; Walter became Walt. Whitman finally came to embrace himself in 1855, for the title page of Leave of Grass. And it seems he has found a certain freedom in this: in embracing himself, his social status and his origins. As the opening verse of “Song of Myself” goes, “I celebrate myself and sing myself, and what I assume you will assume, for every atom that belongs to me as good belongs to you. My language, every atom of my blood, was formed from this soil, from this air, born here to parents born here to the same parents, and their parents the same...". Whitman celebrates being himself and owning his background. Find freedom in knowing and accepting these things. Walt Whitman also revels in the freedom of the natural world in “Song of Myself.” However, for Walt Whitman there appears to be little or no separation between humans and the natural world. Constantly compare and intertwine the two as if they were one in the same thing. Whitman writes: “I will go to the shore by the wood and become.