Learning Modalities
Visual/Spatial Learners
Provide photos of the Chicago
Sandburg portrays as well as “before
and after” photos of Gettysburg and
the World War I battlefields. Ask students to think about whether the
tone of the poems matches the visual
images in these pictures.
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About the Selections
Using spirited but simple words and
phrases, Sandburg expresses his love
and admiration for what he sees as a
vital, brawny, sweating giant of a city.
In “Grass,” Carl Sandburg observes
that today there is only grass where
once monumental battles between
great armies took place. The serenity
of nature obscures the horror and
futility of war.
2
Chicago
Critical Viewing
Answer: It shows the mosaic of people and activities, the bustle of business and the marketplace, and the
vitality and struggle of people to survive.
Carl Sandburg
Accessibility at a Glance
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Chicago
Grass
Context
Chicago, early 20th century
Nature vs. human destruction
Language
Vivid descriptions; rhythmic language
Simple vocabulary and sentences
Concept Level
Accessible (personification of Chicago)
Accessible (Power of nature; passage of time)
Literary Merit
Classic
Noted author
Lexile
NP
NP
Overall Rating
More accessible
Average
3
Background
The 1920s was a time of excitement in America.
The economy was booming, and jazz was the rage. Sandburg’s poems of
industrial America celebrate the energy of the times.
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3
10
4
15
20
Vocabulary Builder
Related Words: brutal
• Call students’ attention to the word
brutal and its definition. Tell students that there are several words
related to brutal.
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:
• List the words presented in the
Vocabulary Development Lesson in
Build Language Skills: brute, brutality,
brutalize, and brutish. Have students
look up these words in a dictionary.
• Have students create sentences
using these words based on the
two Sandburg poems presented
here.
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, halfnaked, sweating, proud to be a Hog Butcher, Tool Maker,
Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler
to the Nation.
Vocabulary Builder
brutal (brØt« ßl) adj. cruel
and without feeling;
savage; violent
wanton (wän« tßn) adj.
senseless; unjustified
cunning (kun« i¢) adj.
skillful in deception;
crafty; sly
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Literary Analysis
Apostrophe and
Personification
• Read aloud lines 10–11 to students.
Have students identify the type of
figurative language that Sandburg
uses in these lines. Lead students to
see that Sandburg personifies the
city.
• Ask students to describe the effect
of this personification. What qualities of the city are expressed in
these lines?
Answer: The use of personification
makes the city seem a vibrant,
loud, and bustling place.
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Reading Check
Answer: The speaker addresses the
city of Chicago as “you.”
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2
Critical Viewing In what ways does this bustling street scene of Chicago
reflect Sandburg’s poem? [Connect]
Who is the “you” the
speaker addresses?
Chicago ■ 841
Support for
Less Proficient Readers
Support for
Special Needs Students
Enrichment for
Gifted/Talented Students
Guide students to understand
that with the rough, robust,
and coarse images at the
beginning of the poem,
Sandburg is celebrating the
essence of Chicago, not complaining about the city. Help
them to appreciate that to
him these images are rich and
heroic. Read the poem aloud
to convey its gusto.
Have students listen to you
read the poem aloud. Help
them define any words or
phrases they do not understand. Then, ask them how
the poem makes them feel.
Guide them to see the vital
personality Sandburg gives his
city. Emphasize that this is the
most important message of
the poem.
After reading the poem aloud,
invite students to render
Sandburg’s personified “City
of the Big Shoulders” in
another medium. Regardless
of the medium they choose,
they should try to capture the
vitality and energy of
Sandburg’s portrayal.
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