If You Want to Be Remembered, You Must Leave Something Behind
“Nothing like us ever was.” This quote from “Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind” by Carl Sandburg highlights the belief that all things must come to an end. This poem describes a city at its peak, engulfed in great riches, crumbling down to nothing but ruins. Through this, Sandburg exemplifies materialism, a belief that everything is made up of matter, and nothing exists beyond the physical world. “Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind” by Carl Sandburg reveals a materialistic metaphysical perspective through its display of everlasting change, unchangeable fate, and an absence of an afterlife. In doing so, Sandburg emphasizes his belief that our remains are all that we are …show more content…
At first, everything is “of gold… / [in] the greatest city,” but later on “the dust” covers everything in sight (11-14, 57). The city was once great; it was so great that riches were steadily found, emphasizing the monstrosity of the city. Afterwards, the city is found in ruins. Everything is left in dust, showing that no one is around, and so the city has been abandoned forever. The move from a prospering city to a dead one is quite large, and demonstrations that change will permanently occur. As the city gets destroyed over time, it proves that change is everlasting, and that time is truly the killer of everything. Heraclitus created the idea that “life is in a constant and ceaseless state of motion and change,” and later on, Baron Paul d’Holbach agreed with this basic principle (Plank, A Brief 2). The overarching idea stated by Heraclitus shows that he, along with d’Holbach, believes that change is everlasting, and will never stop occurring. The fact that these materialist philosophers believe in the idea of everlasting change, and that Sandburg included these concepts, proves that he presented materialistic philosophical views in his …show more content…
At the end of the poem, “dust [covers] a doorsill” and “the women warbled: Nothing like us ever was,” which brings the poem to an end, without the mention of an afterlife (57, 62). There is no afterlife described in the poem, yet all the people who were described beforehand are no longer in the city, and so it is assumed that they are dead. The dust covering the doorsill shows that no one is around, and again proves that they are most likely dead. As there is no afterlife described afterwards, it shows that the poem presents a materialistic view on death. Friedrich Nietzsche “embraced… 19th-century scientific materialism,” which was based upon Darwin’s studies (Plank, A Brief 5). Nietzsche believed that there was no afterlife, just like Darwin. Along with this they did not believed in a religion or god, further proving the fact that they did not believe in any sort of afterlife or heaven. As these beliefs are also seen in the poem, it proves that a materialistic philosophical view is
“Nothing like us ever was.” This quote from “Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind” by Carl Sandburg highlights the belief that all things must come to an end. This poem describes a city at its peak, engulfed in great riches, crumbling down to nothing but ruins. Through this, Sandburg exemplifies materialism, a belief that everything is made up of matter, and nothing exists beyond the physical world. “Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind” by Carl Sandburg reveals a materialistic metaphysical perspective through its display of everlasting change, unchangeable fate, and an absence of an afterlife. In doing so, Sandburg emphasizes his belief that our remains are all that we are …show more content…
At first, everything is “of gold… / [in] the greatest city,” but later on “the dust” covers everything in sight (11-14, 57). The city was once great; it was so great that riches were steadily found, emphasizing the monstrosity of the city. Afterwards, the city is found in ruins. Everything is left in dust, showing that no one is around, and so the city has been abandoned forever. The move from a prospering city to a dead one is quite large, and demonstrations that change will permanently occur. As the city gets destroyed over time, it proves that change is everlasting, and that time is truly the killer of everything. Heraclitus created the idea that “life is in a constant and ceaseless state of motion and change,” and later on, Baron Paul d’Holbach agreed with this basic principle (Plank, A Brief 2). The overarching idea stated by Heraclitus shows that he, along with d’Holbach, believes that change is everlasting, and will never stop occurring. The fact that these materialist philosophers believe in the idea of everlasting change, and that Sandburg included these concepts, proves that he presented materialistic philosophical views in his …show more content…
At the end of the poem, “dust [covers] a doorsill” and “the women warbled: Nothing like us ever was,” which brings the poem to an end, without the mention of an afterlife (57, 62). There is no afterlife described in the poem, yet all the people who were described beforehand are no longer in the city, and so it is assumed that they are dead. The dust covering the doorsill shows that no one is around, and again proves that they are most likely dead. As there is no afterlife described afterwards, it shows that the poem presents a materialistic view on death. Friedrich Nietzsche “embraced… 19th-century scientific materialism,” which was based upon Darwin’s studies (Plank, A Brief 5). Nietzsche believed that there was no afterlife, just like Darwin. Along with this they did not believed in a religion or god, further proving the fact that they did not believe in any sort of afterlife or heaven. As these beliefs are also seen in the poem, it proves that a materialistic philosophical view is