# Pioneers — Leaves of Grass character guide

> Pioneers in Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.

**Role:** minor

**First appearance:** 0047-song-of-myself

## Who they are

Settlers and explorers celebrated in a poem of westward expansion.

## Relationships

### [Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/characters/narrator)

_friendship_

Pioneers are adventurous, forward-moving companions whom the narrator calls to join in building a new world.

## In the story

### [Beginners](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/beginners)

The 'beginners' are the pioneers and visionaries who appear at intervals, facing a paradoxical and relentless fate.

### [Our Old Feuillage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/our-old-feuillage)

Pioneers are implied through references to the West, the scout riding on horseback, and the increasing density of 'strong native persons' in the western territories.

### [The Log at the Wood-Pile](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/3)

Represented by the wood-men, raftsman, and settlers founding new communities.

### [Pioneers! O Pioneers!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/pioneers-o-pioneers)

The central figures addressed as 'tan-faced children' and 'Western youths,' embodying the forward march of civilization.

### [Years of the Modern](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/chapters/years-of-the-modern)

The average man, energetic and godlike, colonizes the Pacific and interlinks all geography with steamships, telegraphs, and factories.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/characters/pioneers
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leaves_of_grass_se/characters