In his poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry”, Walt Whitman focuses on the nature of one’s relationship with strangers in New York. Through Whitman’s eyes, all people share the same experiences in everyday life therefore all people share a common ground. He describes various experiences and actions which a person has in New York and immediately notes that he also had the same experiences. He wonders then what makes human beings differ from each other. His answer is that we’re not different at all, when people share the same experiences and place they are alike.
I do not agree with Whitman’s idea that people who share the same experiences are alike. I partially agree that a person’s behavior changes according to his surroundings but Whitman’s poem doesn’t take into consideration the emotional and spiritual aspect of those experiences on every person. Each individual has a different perspective of things and so something which I would consider wonderful through my eyes could be consider terrible for another. Although here in New York everyone has the same daily routine such as riding the subway, walking through the avenues, and going to school or work, all people differ in their backgrounds, personality, and perspective of those mundane experiences.
