Leaves of Grass · Chapter
To the East and to the West explained
The speaker addresses people from all regions of America, expressing a vision of perfect trust and friendship as the foundational purpose of the United States, a latent bond waiting to be realized in all people.
What happens
The speaker addresses people from all regions of America, expressing a vision of perfect trust and friendship as the foundational purpose of the United States, a latent bond waiting to be realized in all people.
Themes in this chapter
Comradeship and Love
The chapter explicitly states that the main purpose of the States is to found a 'superb friendship, exaltè, previously unknown,' emphasizing comradeship as a national ideal.
America and Its People
The speaker addresses people from the Seaside State, Pennsylvania, the Kanadian north, and the Southerner, celebrating the diverse regions of America.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“To the East and to the West, To the man of the Seaside State and of Pennsylvania, To the Kanadian of the north, to the Southerner I love”
I address people from all directions and regions—the East, the West, the coastal states, Pennsylvania, Canada, and the South—and I love them all.
The speaker inclusively names various American regions to emphasize a unified national identity.
“I believe the main purport of these States is to found a superb friendship, exaltè, previously unknown”
I believe the primary purpose of these United States is to establish an elevated, unprecedented bond of friendship.
This line articulates the central theme of comradeship as the nation's highest calling.