Freud’s theory of Family Romances is certainly an interesting concept; while I cannot say that I fully agree with his claims nor relate to them, I can understand how some people may agree with his ideas. I feel as if Freud is almost sexualizing young children by attributing these kinds of erotic qualities to them, even if he does deem those qualities as “subconscious” or unrecognized within the individual. It can also be interpreted as incestuous, because of the nature of the relationships described between parents and their children. I do, however, agree with Freud’s claim that children strive to be like their parents, especially when they are in their early stages of childhood– and as they get older, start to question their parents’ “legitimacy” in a way by comparing them to figures of higher social class or ranking. While I don’t think I ever resented my parents as a child, it makes sense as to why some children would adopt this complex and want to distance themselves from their biological parents. This can serve as an early form of liberation of children from their parents’ control and influence in a child’s mind. To a certain extent, I can relate to this because I feel like many children look for ways to assert their independence in small ways when their lives are almost completely dictated by their parents or caretakers.

Whitman’s explains ones untranslatable self Poem “Song of Myself” I started to understand what he was saying when it said “I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” After further analysis, I realized that everyone has his or her own untranslatable self. A part of them inside that is just unexplainable, it’s the way ones mind works and how they think. In my opinion, one needs experience in order to understand or realize this untranslatable self. I have been sitting here and trying to think about it, how does one characterize themselves to others? How does one begin to explain to another person how their minds operate? I guess the question is- how does one translate their untranslatable self? Our souls are the untranslatable part of a person, that can not be explained, for everyone is made of the same parts, but on the inside, everyone is different, and everyone’s perception is different.

-OO

In the last “chapter” of Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself,” he describes himself as untranslatable.  “I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,” (Whitman 52).  He mentions this after believing the hawk was mocking him for rambling on for so long about himself and his “poem.”  The fact that he uses the word “too” both times leads me to believe to believe the hawk is not a bit tamed and untranslatable.  In this scenario, Whitman felt the hawk understood what Whitman was saying and even responded in a mocking manner, all while not speaking the same language or even anything comprehendible.  Whitman responds with a “barbaric yawp,” something the hawk would not be able to literally translate but may or may not understand.  In the earlier “chapters,” Whitman believes to be close with nature but admits he wishes he could “translate” what the “hairs of the graves” and the bodies in graves were saying.  My interpretation of the “untranslatable self” is that although other beings/ nature might not be able to literally comprehend what you’re saying, they understand you.  In a broader aspect, you, as in everything that embodies you and makes up your being and identity, cannot be translated as a whole (literally comprehended or physically morphed), but that does not mean you are not understood or at least the embodiment of you (at one point or another).  I mention the latter in parenthesis because Whitman seems to have morphed with nature and become one with the grass similar to those in graves earlier in the poem.  Although it seems he is no longer his physical embodiment, Whitman awaits you.  I do not fully understand what this means but I do get the gist of it; the untranslatable self.

Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself.” circles around self-identity and how everyone has an untranslatable self-hidden within them. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about things relating to this poem which made me really enjoy this poem. Right now being at an awkward age of just stepping into adulthood, I feel like there’s so much I should do and yet so much I haven’t figured out. Everyone around me seems to be in a rush of becoming someone, which I feel like makes them forget who they are. In Whitman’s poem, “untranslatable self” is mentioned, self to him isn’t just physical your body or mind but also your soul. It includes everything that has made you the person you are right now and even your undiscovered self. That one’s self is above and beyond anything that can be translated. Everyone is different so you’re not a language that has been heard of or researched, One’s self is untranslatable showing how individually we are all unique and no one is exactly the same which is why we are untranslatable. One’s self is also untranslatable because as humans we are constantly changing and our sense of selves are only temporary. The poet himself hints throughout the poem that he, himself, is also untranslatable. Being in a free society, he, himself is not identified, discovered. In certain ways, I feel like he’s saying we all revolve in a circle of which makes up one or another through our individual experiences. The world seems so big yet it’s so small, everyone has an untranslatable self that they’re trying to identify in order to become steps closer to the self they ought to be. The self you seems to know right now isn’t exactly who you are or who you can be, so take it at your own pace and maintain your individuality.

• Shan Shan Chen

The poem “Song of Myself” touches upon the idea of self identity and the idea of individualism. In the second passage of the poem Whitman breathes in the fragrances and is in intoxicated by the scent, yet he knows that he should not let the scent get the best of him (II, line 1-4). These so-called “perfumes” that Whitman mentions can be interpreted as the people around him who possess different personalities and opinions. Although, he may agree and obtain some of the opinions and knowledge of others, Whitman strongly encourages and exerts himself to not let others influence or alter his perspective. He also encourages his readers to express and follow the idea of individualism. “You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me, you shall listen to all sides and filter them from yourself.” (II, line 38-40) While in the beginning sections of the poem, Whitman expresses this idea of self identity and individualism, towards the end of the poem he diverges into this idea of wanting to understand the universe. Although he wants to maintain the idea of self-expression, Whitman cannot help but question the unfathomable. “I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men and women..All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses..”(VI, 30-31, 41-32)

Whitman’s “untranslatable self” speaks of how distinct and unique we are as individuals. Although we may all think alike and have similar thoughts and ideologies, we are also very different externally but also internally. The experiences and paths that we may experience are all different. It is our experiences and our actions that we explore upon that define who we are as an individual. We are unable to translate ourselves. We cannot simply define ourselves.

My understanding of the “untranslatable self” is that there is something so big and unique and in need of celebration about each and every human which can’t be written down in words. The interesting thing about this is that Whitman is, in fact, doing his best to write down the intricacies of himself, yet finds himself unable to fully write it down. Whitman celebrates this untranslatability, though, and find it to be the best thing about being human. It reminds me of the way that we experienced, in class, the painting of the monk experiencing the sublime while looking over a large, ambiguous ocean. Whitman, in this same way, is introspecting and experiencing the same awe and fear and lust and confusion. The human experience is something so untranslatable, yet we so often try to parse it down into easy-to-digest explanations and quips. Yet, it’s not that easy. Instead of working to gain a handle on every aspect of humanity, perhaps we should follow Whitman’s lead and celebrate the largeness and ambiguity of each individual.

-Kelsey Luks

The poem ” song myself” emphasizes how we should know ourselves as person and think about what we really want in life. Untranslatable self is a thing that almost everybody go through in a moment of their life. Have a taste of who you really are as a person, knowing each characteristic that represent you is important before you go through anything. sometimes we just do things by looking at somebody ideas or life style which can be a big mistake because that mean you do not know what you really want. First begin of knowing yourself, distinguish what you like from what you  dislike and start to work or focus on what you like the most. For example, i had many friends who were taking business courses, so i decided to take business as well because a lot of my friends were taking it and i end up changing  my major. I lost some credits that was not part of my major and also waste of few semesters. This explain that how important it is to know what you want instead of following other belief because you will end up regret it or not be happy at the end. From my understanding in order to be untranslatable self you need to know yourself and follow your own path, live your life the way you want or care less about what people think or say about you and be more ambitious.

“Untranslatable self” is an expression which I have found recently. I am getting older and older but I still don’t know who I am. I don’t know how to define myself. My mind is still young like 21. My thinking and view of how to see the world look like not to grow up at all. I mean I am suffering from considering how to live as an adult. The reason is that my mind sets on the past. There is a song “Young, Wild, and Free by Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa.” Do I want to live like this? Of course, It doesn’t mean I’d like to roll one and smoke one. As getting older and getting one more age every year, I’ve not changed myself. However, people around me have a different view of me and expectation to me. I think I should response to them. Especially, my family. You can say “you should live your own life.” I know this. However, they’ve raised me up while I was a kid. They contributed to making who I am. They still affect me even if it’s not big. I know that I am not young and I don’t live alone in the world. Who am I? But who affects me? But why should I mind other people? What should I do? But… never mind. I cannot find answers to those questions. Life is a way to find me. If so, this is not a life if I find keys. I decide to enjoy thinking of me although it is impossible to define myself. I just want to say ten years later “I was who worry about my life and afraid of unknown unclear future. But I still do. The different thing is I have my log about how to live my life. These are my memories which sometimes make me smile.”

Whitman speaks of an “untranslatable self” in his poem “Song of Myself”. When he speaks of the self, he doesn’t just mean his actual body; he means the soul within him. Translators are people who move something from one language to another. Whitman is saying his soul is something that can not be translated. Before touching on why he believes his “self” is untranslatable, he discusses a few pointers about his “self. First of all, he begins the poem by saying “I celebrate myself, and sing myself”. This shows how he much he praises the “self”. Then he also speaks about the individual in his poem; he speaks of a unified democracy that’s is made up of many individuals. So while it is one voice of one nation, it is made up of different voices. Everyone’s voice is equal. Now to move on to why Whitman says the soul is untranslatable. It is something that’s cannot be put into another language; a person cannot be made into something else or mean something else like words can. If a soul has been given a meaning, that meaning will suffice forever; the person holding that soul just has to be able to live up to that meaning. So when the body dies, everything goes along with it. Not just the body parts (legs, arms, hair, etc.); but also all the memories and ideas and wonders of that “self” has ever had. All of that is terminated once the body is gone. The reason why these things are untranslated is because these things make up the person entire identity. No one else can have this same identity.

In the poem “Song to Myself” Whitman introduces the idea of being “untranslatable”. This term touches upon the notion that self identity and the concept of selfhood and individualism can never truly be revealed. Self individuality is a construct that can be defined as never ending or interminable. Whitman is trying to discuss the fact that our souls and our mindsets are always changing based on external and internal factors. The experiences that an individual undergoes is just one of the factors that assists in altering self identity, one can never truly reach self expression. Whitman describes the effect of this idea in his poem when he was unable to answer the question of the child when asked what grass is, “How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.” Whitman was in a state of confusion when answering this question because all he could have been able to describe about the grass was its physical features, but he believed that there was more to it than just that. Therefore, if he was unable to describe the nature of grass although it was a part of nature as he is himself, then he will also be unable to explain what he is as well, due to the fact that human nature is always in a state of adaptation and amendment. “Untranslatable self” centers around the idea of identity and the importance of building up your character and finding yourself throughout the journey of your altering self individuality.

-Jyoti Bali