"I Am the People, the Mob" by Carl Sandburg

I am the people--the mob--the crowd--the mass.
Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me?
I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the world's food and clothes.
I am the audience that witnesses history. The Napoleons come from me and the Lincolns. They die. And then I send forth more Napoleons and Lincolns.
I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand for much plowing. Terrible storms pass over me. I forget. The best of me is sucked out and wasted. I forget. Everything but Death comes to me and makes me work and give up what I have. And I forget.
Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red drops for history to remember. Then--I forget.
When I, the People, learn to remember, when I, the People, use the lessons of yesterday and no longer forget who robbed me last year, who played me for a fool--then there will be no speaker in all the world say the name: "The People," with any fleck of a sneer in his voice or any far-off smile of derision.
The mob--the crowd--the mass--will arrive then.

Analysis of "I Am the People, the Mob"

In "I am the People, the Mob", Sandburg shows that the common people are the ones with the most power. He describes the people as those who create and witness history, yet still forget eventually. "Do you know that all the great work of the world is done through me?/I am the workingman, the inventor, the maker of the world's food and clothes./I am the audience that witnesses history. The Napoleons come from me and the Lincolns. They die. And then i send forth more Napoleons and Lincolns./I am the seed ground. I am a prairie that will stand for much plowing. Terrible storms pass over me. I forget. The best of me is sucked out and wasted. I forget. Everything but Death comes to me and makes me work and give up what I have. And I forget. Sometimes I growl, shake myself and spatter a few red drops for history to remember. Then--I forget." This quote describes the common people as the creators and witnesses history, and that when they are united, they can accomplish anything, even immortality. The mob is symbolized as a prairie and the storms symbolize tears that have fallen after battles, breaking the dirt. This shows that out of many common people, some exceptional leaders can be born, and that strength does lie in numbers.

"Chicago" by Carl Sandburg

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:

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

Analysis of "Chicago"

In Carl Sandburg's "Chicago", he points out the shortcomings of the major city, but asks if there is any other city as majestic, despite the problems. Sandburg describes the city of Chicago, and personifies it to give it traits of arrogance, overconfidence, pride, and cunning. "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 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." These lines show that the city, if it was a person, would be boastful, laughing because he has had good luck. Sandburg suggests that the bad side of people is the first one noticeable, but that even evil people (or cities) can have some good in them and that there can be more to them than meets the eye.