"Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" Unco

This same motif follows through to the next stanza, as he continues to emphasize how things are the same to him as they are to those of us interpreting the poem. By tracing this motif, we see that no matter where we are or how far away from Brooklyn and Manhattan, the images that Whitman saw will live on long after his passing. This deepens the understanding of the poem and assists the reader to comprehend Whitman's state of reasoning when composing this poem. He, in fact, was writing this poem to be read long after he was gone. He "consider"d long and seriously of you before you were born" (88). He realized that certain constants would stay the same, including people and the roles they take in their lives. In stanza six, the idea of playing roles develops: Lived the same life with the rest, the same old laughing, gnawing, sleeping, Play"d the part that still looks back on the actor or actress, The same old role, the role that is what we make it, as great as we like, Or as small as we like, or both great and small. (82-85) This demonstrates how we all play a part in our life, but yet we all experience the same feelings. We are trying to play a role we are not. We hide behind our roles and hurry, not taking the time to notice what Whitman noticed. He stood and watched, writing about what he saw, presuming that we will watch and perceive the same.