Restrictive Order

“Order” by Linda Kunhardt is similar to Ginsberg’s “Howl” and Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” In “Order,” each line describes an everyday activity or event in an ordinary person’s life, such as “a narrow girl sells purses made of reed.” This is similar to Canto 15 of “Song of Myself,” in which Whitman describes the different roles of individuals in society. They both target individuals and are fairly specific, however they seem to have a different message. Canto 15 celebrates individuals and their seemingly ordinary lives instead of judging them and sees each role being a crucial part for society to work and in order for each person to be able to define himself. “Order” does not imply that these ordinary activities are something one should celebrate, but sees them as acts that are constricting and meaningless. This idea is similar to Ginsberg’s idea of the absence of freedom where authoritative figures intervene. “Order” repeats a line multiple times “while chicken crammed in cages peck their seed,” in order to compare that image the other individuals Kunhardt describes. She implies that people are in “cages,” similarly how in “Howl,” people are stripped away form their freedom in asylum houses or factories.