“Chicago” as Carl Sandburg says has a few bad parts but despite its faults and errors he is still in love with the city. He personifies the city, Chicago in the poet’s view is a young man who has all the responsibility on his tender shoulders and who is willing to carry out the responsibility with proper care.
The poet is in love with the vitality of the workers in Chicago and in essence, Sandburg is deeply concerned with the American dream of working related to ethics as a result of which pride, prosperity, and power would automatically emerge. In this vivid, writhing and alive poem, the poet talks about as a matter of fact paints a picture of a dark city, a grimy city of men. These are the men who work continuously for the betterment of the city and also for upholding the pride of Chicago. These men are extremely proud of Chicago because they have in a sense molded the city with their own hands. They are a part and parcel of the city. The blood that surges in the men is synonymous to the city.
The poet actually argues with anyone who even speaks one bad word against the city, when no human being is perfect, how we can expect a city to be perfect. Written from a non- shifting first persons narrative point of view, the poem can be viewed as a piece written by an individual who is deeply in love with the city he grew up in. Anyone who loves the place he or she grew up in understands the obvious reasons why an individual cannot hear a word against it, you love your city as much as you love your nation, may be more than that. The poet loves the city so much that he wants more industrialization of the city, he wants Chicago to turn more progressive.
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The poem talks about the problems that the beautiful city of Chicago faces, the most namely prostitution, poverty and crime. Sandburg is of the opinion that it is essential for the city to get rid of these problems in order to prosper. The poet is quite sure about the fact that the city has the ability to prosper, flourish and re- invent itself. Sandburg shifts from personification to a rough smile in the last stanza where he is hoping for a situation where Chicago will get rid of all its blemishes and prosper unexpectedly.
The poem is actually depicting the unfulfilled wish of a citizen of a city who dreams that someday his city would become the best city in the whole world. Each and every citizen who loves his or her city dearly can understand what truly is the feeling of Sandburg and what he actually wants from his city. The love from a citizen for his city is beautifully depicted in the poem.