Stanley Plumly begins his analysis of Walt Whitman’s life in the capital of the United States of America, Washington, DC, by describing how atrocious the city appears. He proceeds to argue that despite its presentation, the city still manages to draw people to it. The phrase "mud city" is used to describe Washington before its development because citizens viewed it as a glorified piece of farm land. Plumly illustrates the capital with diseases, wondrous farm animals, and raunchy places of business. Although the city had a reputation of being filled with the stench of livestock, it attracted many white collar jobs, such as veterinarians, doctors, and lawyers. Washington also started to grow industrially due to the building of the Washington
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New York's city of Manhatten had a bountiful supply of trade and new visitors brought forth by ferries and steamships each day. Plumly uses Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" to reinforce the booming success of Manhatten in contrast to Washingtons lacking advancements. Once Whitman finally makes it to the capital, the city had gained a multitude of hospitals to house the sick and wounded. However, it is still struggling with a disorganized society. Whitman's journey to the capital was not for personal pleasure, but to find his injured brother George. After searching Whitman discovers, a minorly injured, George in a temporary hospital outside of the city. Visiting his brother in the hospital caused Whitman to have an epiphany of what he wanted to do with his new life outside of Brooklyn. He takes up volunteering for the wounded soldiers during battles in Falmouth, Virginia. Whitman's service was not limited to nursing the men back to health, but included mentoring and letter writing for those enable. Working in the hospitals was not always as gratifying as Plumly portrays the job to be. Within one of Whitman's poems, he writes about the visual aftermath of the war that plagued Virginia. Dead corpses and sawed off limbs were stacked high at the base of trees alongside the makeshift graves of fallen military personnel. These gory scenes embody Whitman's experiences
New York's city of Manhatten had a bountiful supply of trade and new visitors brought forth by ferries and steamships each day. Plumly uses Whitman's poem "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" to reinforce the booming success of Manhatten in contrast to Washingtons lacking advancements. Once Whitman finally makes it to the capital, the city had gained a multitude of hospitals to house the sick and wounded. However, it is still struggling with a disorganized society. Whitman's journey to the capital was not for personal pleasure, but to find his injured brother George. After searching Whitman discovers, a minorly injured, George in a temporary hospital outside of the city. Visiting his brother in the hospital caused Whitman to have an epiphany of what he wanted to do with his new life outside of Brooklyn. He takes up volunteering for the wounded soldiers during battles in Falmouth, Virginia. Whitman's service was not limited to nursing the men back to health, but included mentoring and letter writing for those enable. Working in the hospitals was not always as gratifying as Plumly portrays the job to be. Within one of Whitman's poems, he writes about the visual aftermath of the war that plagued Virginia. Dead corpses and sawed off limbs were stacked high at the base of trees alongside the makeshift graves of fallen military personnel. These gory scenes embody Whitman's experiences