Edwards/Whitman Compare & Contrast If everyone thought the same, if everyone’s form was alike, if everyone had no distinctions, then life would not be the same. Nothing is ever the same. Our thoughts and ideas differ, as we think in different levels, but even our ideas have similarities. The foundations of our ideas are connected through the various uses of languages and techniques. Though Edwards’s and Whitman’s anecdotes differed abundantly in theme and explanation, they had similarities in regard to tone, imagery, diction, poetic devices, and their reflections on human nature, as well as differences. Both Edwards’s and Whitman’s anecdotes can be analyzed in the areas of tone, diction, syntax, and figures of speech.The tone within anecdotes can be caught, as it is expressive of a mood or emotion. Words that are often used express their differences of meaning. Tone is the style or manner of expression in writing that gives the passage a general character, quality, trend or frame of mind. In other words, the tone, itself, sets up a mood within the passage. Edwards centers himself on the main topic of damnation. The tone he uses is one of rage, pity and demand, which makes the reader feel downcast and unworthy of one’s self. Whitman’s tone is of hope. It channels through discovery, exploration and opportunity. The idea that salvation is reachable is expressed in his tone. As in the following: “And you O my soul where you stand, surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space, ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them, till the bridge you need be formed, till the ductile anchor hold, till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.” Edwards believes that one is only a puppet held together by strings held by the puppeteer, who thinks of one as nothing more than if he were dust. “He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but...
