"Happiness"
Below is the poem, with analysis at the bottom.

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I asked professors who teach the meaning of life to tell
   me what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of
   thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though
   I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along
   the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with
   their women and children and a keg of beer and an
   accordion.

A Student's Analysis

This seems like a more light-hearted poem.  Sandburg tells a story of asking people what they think happiness is.  The first two he asks are people who "should" know what happiness is.  But both look at him as if he's trying to fool them.  He then ventures out to observe some of the lower class and what he sees exemplifies his image of happiness.

Sandburg's poetry centers around the differences between the lower and upper classes.  He continually favors the lower class for their simplicity and how they value the things in their lives.  This poem is no different in that sense.  We're given two contrasting groups and Sandburg hints that the latter has more to offer in imagery.

Sandburg is showing the reader that the people of Chicago are happy because they find happiness in the things that are important to them, even if they aren't very well educated or wealthy.

This website is a student project created for the University of Michigan's English 280 class.  Created by Chris Stallman