Freedom is beautifully illustrated in an endless amount of modern American literature. Freedom can be represented in different forms, by different artists, in completely different times. Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" was first published in 1855. Whitman's version of freedom plays an important role in "Song of Myself." Another work that depicts freedom is “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston. The two works, although different, illustrate the freedom of both authors in unique ways. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayWalt Whitman was known for being quite outspoken in his discussions of sex and bodily functions, which in his day was quite revolutionary. However, Walt wasn't just discussing these things. In “Song of Myself,” the narrator himself and humanity are huge aspects. Whitman feels connected to everyone. “I pass death with the dying and birth with the newly washed baby, and I am not contained between my hat and my boots / …I am not an Earth nor a complement of an earth, / I am the companion and the companion of people, all as immortal and unfathomable as I…” Walt Whitman explains that he is one with the dying, as well as with the newborn. He is not contained by himself and his body. He is the same as all men, and he is everyone. Whitman is mortal and he wonders when death will approach. However, it seems that Whitman finds freedom in this feeling instead of feeling trapped by it. The feeling of being one with humanity is liberating for him. Additionally, Whitman finds freedom within himself. He finds freedom in being himself and knowing that he is human. As Ted Genoways says in his essay “Inventing Walt Whitman,” “…we see the first example of that most American of tricks: self-invention.” Walt had been born into a humble Quaker family on Long Island, and his social position had allowed him to rise only during brief stints as editor of various small newspapers. Whitman was born into a simple family, neither rich nor poor. He found himself unable to improve his social status and so fashioned himself a dandy, complete with cane and buttonhole, trying to improve his status. Whitman shed the fancy clothes in favor of the clothes of an ordinary man, with his wide hat turned upside down, his beard thick and unkempt. “…he stood defiantly, one hand bent at his hip, the other thrust into his pocket…he posed with his collar open, revealing a worker's undershirt. And this new character required a new name; Walter became Walt. Whitman finally kissed in 1855, for the frontispiece of Leave of Grass. And it seems that he found a certain freedom in this – in accepting himself, his social status and his origins. As the opening stanza of “Song of Myself” puts it, “I celebrate and sing of myself, / And what I suppose you will assume, / For every atom that is mine as well is yours / …………….. / My tongue, every atom of my blood, formed from this soil, from this air, / Born here of parents born here of parents like, and their parents like...” Whitman famously was himself and recognizes his past. He finds freedom in knowing and accepting these things. Walt Whitman also revels in the freedom of the natural world throughout “Song of Myself.” However, for Walt Whitman, there seemed to be little or no separation between humans and the natural world. He constantly compares and interweaves the two as if they were one..