James Wiedeman
ENG 251 Survey of American Lit.
Prof Rock Neelly
December 1, 2014

Journal 11: Emily Dickinson’s I’m Nobody, Who are you?

The poem “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson establishes a feeling that can rarely be expressed without the use of imagery. A feeling of solitude, remoteness, and vulnerability that just can’t be fully grasped by limiting the description to words. She often creates a feeling that cannot be explained any other way, a feeling that either speaks to you or does not. The feeling in this particular Dickinson poem is quite universal. We all wonder who we are, why we are here, what is out “there”, or even the famous question of, “What is the meaning of life?” In this poem, she wonders the significance of one’s soul. “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” It is as if Dickinson is making it exclusive to be someone with a soul. “Are you - Nobody - Too?” Here she seems excited to find someone else like her. “Then there’s a pair of us? “Don’t tell! They’d advertise - you know!” Dickinson expressed that it is a rarity to have a soul because if “they” knew then “they” would advertise and expose the nobody’s. She seems to be suggesting that these souls are something different. She furthers the idea of liberty and individuality as a soul. “How dreary - to be somebody!” She is saying that she does not want to be confined to a body. As a spirit or a soul you can be anything or anywhere. “How public - like a frog-”. “To tell one’s name”. A name is often thought of as a label stating who you are. She is implying that to expose oneself you can make yourself vulnerable to those who are insensitive to your being. On the other hand, being invisible like a free soul you have the ability to be a watcher and experience without being visibly involved. The reference to the frog is that frogs are loud and proclaim their