“Chicago” written by Carl Sandburg is an eloquent piece of literature about the lives of the people in Chicago and the city as a whole. Life in the city is described as a: wicked, crooked, and the brutal way of life. In which Sandburg describes the poverty and grittiness of what he was exposed to, but also how the people there are hardworking even if they sometimes have to resort to doing jobs they do not especially enjoy. Throughout the entire poem Sandburg uses: personification, vivid imagery, and a shrewd choice of words to portray a proud tone.
The poem begins as Sandburg introduces the specific types of work that would fall into the category of hard labor, which are often associated with Chicago during the1800s and early 1900s: “Hog …show more content…
The city of Chicago is referred to as if it was a living, breathing, vibrant person. Just about the entire poem personifies Chicago into a living individual. He describes Chicago as a human with “Big Shoulders”, “head singing”, “white teeth”, and “the heart of the people”(Sandburg 14,22). He is so convincing that as you read you feel like he is talking about a living person. In the second verse, Sandburg speaks to Chicago in a way you might discuss someones past. “They tell me you are wicked” also “They tell me you are crooked”(Sandburg 6, 8). In each example Sandburg agrees with Chicago’s less than perfect reputation; however the poet sees through all the roughness and sees the liveliness and excitement that existed in the city. Furthering his purpose Sandburg defends the city referring to its: “lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning”(Sandburg 14-15). In the final stanza, Sandburg moves from personification to a simile: "Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness" (Sandburg 18). Then, as if in a altering cadence to make a sort of beating emotional appeal of how he views Chicago, Sandburg uses an astonishingly successful series of words that unambiguously indicates what he sees in
The poem begins as Sandburg introduces the specific types of work that would fall into the category of hard labor, which are often associated with Chicago during the1800s and early 1900s: “Hog …show more content…
The city of Chicago is referred to as if it was a living, breathing, vibrant person. Just about the entire poem personifies Chicago into a living individual. He describes Chicago as a human with “Big Shoulders”, “head singing”, “white teeth”, and “the heart of the people”(Sandburg 14,22). He is so convincing that as you read you feel like he is talking about a living person. In the second verse, Sandburg speaks to Chicago in a way you might discuss someones past. “They tell me you are wicked” also “They tell me you are crooked”(Sandburg 6, 8). In each example Sandburg agrees with Chicago’s less than perfect reputation; however the poet sees through all the roughness and sees the liveliness and excitement that existed in the city. Furthering his purpose Sandburg defends the city referring to its: “lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning”(Sandburg 14-15). In the final stanza, Sandburg moves from personification to a simile: "Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness" (Sandburg 18). Then, as if in a altering cadence to make a sort of beating emotional appeal of how he views Chicago, Sandburg uses an astonishingly successful series of words that unambiguously indicates what he sees in