In the poem o captain! my captain! , whitman refers to president lincoln as a captain and a father. why does whitman compare the president to an army officer and a parent? what does this suggest about how the public (civilians) view national leaders?

In "O Captain! My Captain!" Whitman compares the president to an army officer and parent. He does this to show how Lincoln is in charge, not only of the mission, but also the well-being of the American people. Whitman chooses to use these very strong leaders to show Lincoln's strength in war as well peace. This suggests that the public views their leaders almost like a father figure and great protector.

it is the nurture that decides the behavior of a child.

explanation:

naturally, children are pure. it is an environment and the type of attention a child gets that determines their behavior.  

today we'd use social media to quickly spread a controversial idea, but in the eighteenth century, the printed pamphlet was highly effective. and thomas paine took full advantage of it. on january 9, 1776, when paine published his pamphlet, "common sense," he wanted to push the american people toward independence from britain. it ultimately ignite the american revolution. thomas paine argued that the monarchy was evil and should be rejected as a form of government. to underscore his point, he cited the bible to argue his case -- in judges 8: 22-23: "the israelites said to gideon, 'rule over us, you and your son and your ' gideon told them, 'i will not rule over you. the lord will rule over you'" (nrsv).