My favorite part from section 48 is :

“And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one’s self is,

And whoever walks a furlong without sympathy walks to his own funeral drest in his shroud,

And I or you pocketless of a dime may purchase the pick of the earth,

And to glance with an eye or show a bean in its pod confounds the learning of all times,

And there is no trade or employment but the young man following it may become a hero”

These lines contain a lot of symbolism and connection to religion. I understood that we are who we are and our actions belong to us only. The control stays between ourselves and it is our choice to do anything as we live on this earth. As I read these lines it left me wondering what other interpretations can there be apart from mine since these are very strong lines that can be interpreted in many ways. A video I really liked that talks about section 48 is by a young lady named Kiara. I really enjoyed her interpretation of this section of the poem and agree to the points she made based on the lines in this section. She emphasizes that these line introduce a theme about the connection between the soul and body. She points out an interesting point that Whitman believed that the soul, body, and God are all in one. Whitman wanted reader to understand that we all have what we are in search of within ourselves. The answer is in us and there is no need to feel lost when we have ourselves. He backs his argument by saying we don’t need to be rich to get everything the earth contains. Kiara also pointed out the repetition of “and’ which I strongly agree. Whitman uses this repetition to build his argument to his reader and make them agree and understand his perspective. This section represent his strong belief with God which can be very moving when looking deep into the lines and his way of thinking.