# Are You the New Person Drawn Toward Me? explained — Leaves of Grass

> Chapter companion for Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

## What happens

The speaker warns a new acquaintance not to mistake his outward appearance for his true self, suggesting that the friendship or love they seek may be based on illusion rather than reality.

## Themes in this chapter

### Individuality and Self

The speaker asserts his unique and unknowable nature, challenging the listener's assumptions about his identity.

### Comradeship and Love

The poem questions the ease and purity of forming a loving or friendly bond, suggesting it may be fraught with misunderstanding.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The speaker issues a cautionary warning to a new person drawn toward him, emphasizing the gap between appearance and reality.

## Key lines

> Are you the new person drawn toward me? To begin with take warning, I am surely far different from what you suppose;

If you are someone new approaching me, be warned: I am not at all what you imagine.

_The speaker immediately establishes a tone of caution and self-revelation._

> Do you think the friendship of me would be unalloy’d satisfaction?

Do you believe that being my friend will bring you pure and complete happiness?

_The speaker questions the idealized view of friendship._

> Have you no thought O dreamer that it may be all maya, illusion?

Have you never considered, dreamer, that this might all be an illusion?

_The speaker invokes the concept of maya to suggest that the listener's perception is deceptive._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/are-you-the-new-person-drawn-toward-me
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters