Chicago

Chicago

Hog Butcher for the World,
Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler;
Stormy, husky, brawling,
City of the Big Shoulders:  5

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I
     have seen your painted women under the gas lamps
     luring the farm boys.
And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is
     true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.
And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is:
     On the faces of women and children I have seen the
     marks of wanton hunger.
And having answered so I turn once more to those who
     sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer
     and say to them:
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
     so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.  10
Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job,
     here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities;

Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
     as a savage pitted against the wilderness,

Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,  15
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,

Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
     white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
     man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
     never lost a battle,  20
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse,
     and under his ribs the heart of the people,

Laughing!

Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
     Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
     Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

Carl Sandburg


Analysis: 

This poem describes the development, life, and soul of the city Chicago. The free verse begins with, “Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads...” ; a presentment of the common jobs of men in Chicago. The first stanza is a brief description of the city. “Stormy, husky, brawling”, we can already see that Chicago is a dirty and noisy city of industrialization.

           

They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I

have seen your painted women under the gas lamps

luring the farm boys.  6

And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is

                        True I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again.  7

            And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is:

                        On the faces of women and children I have seen the

                        marks of wanton hunger.  8

From the words above, we can tell that the author is not from Chicago but he probably has visited Chicago before (words in bold) and has heard and seen many social issues existing at that specific time; prostitution, crime, and hunger. Although there were uses of first person tense, but no opinions of the city were expressed in the first eight lines. Starting from the ninth line, there is a significant change in tone and beliefs. Sandburg says that there is no other city where people can sing proudly to be alive, and being satisfied of what they have. He opposed the “wicked, crooked, and brutal” image of Chicago, and described the spirit of the city and its people.

            Come and show me another city with lifted head singing

                        so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning

            Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning

as a savage pitted against the wilderness,

Bareheaded,

Shoveling,

Wrecking,  15

Planning,

Building, breaking, rebuilding,

Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with

                        white teeth,

Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young

                        man laughs,

Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has

                        never lost a battle,  20

Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse,

                        and under his ribs the heart of the people,

           

Laughing!

The bold lines show that the people of Chicago are always positive, real, and ready for action. To the workers, they are proud of what they do and satisfied of what they receive in return. A simple life will bring people more pureness and kindness, less of complaints and enviousness. From the perspective of Carl Sandburg, Chicago is a purer and happier city than anywhere else.