"Chicago"
Below is the poem, with analysis at the bottom.

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

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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 cun-
   ning.
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,
       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,
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 the Hog
   Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
   Railroads and Freight Handler of the Nation.

A Student's Analysis

This poem gives us very vivid images of Chicago.  The poem itself starts off with references to the various jobs its people have ("Hog Butcher," "Tool Maker," and "Player with Railroads") to give us the feeling that the city is a working class city.  He then goes on to give us a very unpleasant view of the city in lines 7-15.  It's as if he is taking all of the compelling arguments against Chicago being "great" and confirming them.  But he holds back a little when he begins each new part with "They say."  As a reader, I take this as Sandburg starting to hint that he doesn't really believe all the harsh things said about his city.

In fact, it's right when we are beginning to think this that Sandburg begins his defense of Chicago.  The overall feeling the rest of the poem gives us is one of a proud, hardworking city.  He repeats words of strength, such as "coarse and strong" (line 20), "bold" (line 23), and "bragging" (line 38).

Sandburg's words capture the essence of the city in his own poetic way.  "...a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities" really captures the feeling of Chicago being the dominant personality and dominant culture in the quiet Midwest.  The city itself essentially rises out of the surrounding cornfields and is vividly set off against its background.

The overall feeling of this poem is one of pride: the pride of the people for their hard work; the pride of the city for its magnitude; and the pride of the author for living there.

This website is a student project created for the University of Michigan's English 280 class.  Created by Chris Stallman