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Walt Whitman said in the preface to his book of poetry leaves of ass, 'the proof of a poet is whether his nation embraces him as he has absorbed it.' The same anecdote may be applied to distinguish whether Whitman reflected or interrogated the value systems of the time. In his poetry, Whitman reflected the values of 19th century America, in his detailed exploration on religion, education, the self made man and equality. But in song of Myself, Song of the Open Road, and 'I sit and look out', Whitman does more than reflect, he interrogates the base values of his society by encouraging his readers to view them in a different light. Never very successful in his lifetime, like his quote it may be deduced that his nation did not embrace him because he did not reflect their value systems. But while it is true Whitman interrogated the value system of...

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