Bryant has gone through many difficult times throughout his life; from the loss of family members to social isolation. He lost many family members and close friends. The death that hurt him the most was that of his father. Bryant's father was a very important part of his life; his father taught him many things throughout his life. His father submitted five of his poems to the North American Review, one of them being the first version of "Thanatopsis". It is said that Bryant mourned his father's death and that his death is what gave him the emotional passion with which to write. As a child, Bryant was forced to work on a farm and spent most of his time outdoors. By spending most of his life outdoors, Bryant was able to gain his transcendental vision of nature. Furthermore, later in Bryant's life he was unable to provide for his family and fulfill the role of a father. Typically a father's role is to provide bread for the family while taking care of his wife and children. Bryant did not have the means necessary to provide his family's income. This led Bryan to take many desperate measures to provide for his family. A bad investment in a merchant ship landed him in “debtors prison.” Debtors prison is a prison specifically for people who cannot pay the debt they have collected. Death also played an important role in Bryant's life. He had to cope with the loss of many family members due to the typhus epidemic. His experiences with death allowed him to write with different points of view on death. Bryant struggled with thoughts of an "afterlife" related to God. As a child, Bryant's grandparents tried to instill their religious views in him. Through his writings Bryant portrayed his faith in...... middle of paper ......and to expand his reading and became familiar with British philosophical writers and poets. Spanish was the next culture he immersed himself in. This immersion was made possible thanks to the meeting with a famous Cuban poet. After this meeting Bryant began to learn the Spanish language and expand his knowledge of Spanish literature. He soon spoke the Spanish language well enough to translate Spanish poems into English. Eventually Bryant's poems, "Thanatopsis" and "To A Waterfowl" were translated into Spanish and published in Spain. Bryant's interest in Spanish literature, Spanish culture and history remained constant for many decades, but was most intense early in his career. Bryant's interest in all these different cultures and languages ​​helped expand his knowledge and only improved his writing as he now had worldly views.