Answer and Explanation:
Why does the speaker name so many kinds of workers?
In his poem "I Hear America Singing", Walt Whitman mentions several kinds of workers: the mason, the carpenter, the seamstress, the shoemaker, and so on. The reason behind this is that the author is trying to make sure he is representing America's working class and its beautiful variety of professions in this poem. Of course, he cannot mention each and every profession there is, but he does speak of so many in an attempt to make workers feel represented, seen.
What is the effect of these references?
Those references value each individual's hard work. This poem is, after all, a celebration of each person's uniqueness, a homage to their building America with their own hands. Whitman wants to convey the message that it is the working class that makes this country a wonderful place to live in. It is their hard work that makes America such a beautiful nation.
