18 pages 36 minutes read

Walt Whitman

Are you the new person drawn toward me?

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1860

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Symbols & Motifs

Facade

“Facade” has two common definitions (Line 7). The first is “the front of a building” referring to the “face of a building given special architectural treatment” (“facade.” Merriam-Webster, 2022). Typically, the outside of certain buildings are dressed up to draw in customers and clients, like shop windows being filled with the newest and best products. However, what a building looks like on the outside, the “face value” of the building, may not always be representative of what it’s really like on the inside. A shop owner may put a lot of effort into designing a storefront, but the inside may be filthy and infested. The term “facade” can carry a negative connotation, as it implies someone or something is inauthentic and disingenuous. They are not showing what is truly inside of them. This interpretation fits with the second meaning of “facade,” which is “a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect” (“facade.” Merriam-Webster, 2022). Here again is the implication that the exterior of a person, place, or thing does not match up with its true identity. Rather, what individuals initially perceive is merely a veneer and a deception.

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