Whitman's Notebook

Part 1: Black
Part 2: Red

Upon initial reading, Whitman's notebook appeared to be very messy and unorganized. The impression that I got was that he was writing his ideas down in a very hurried fashion. This caused many of his words to be illegible but I was still able to make out some of them. On the first page there seems to be some different names. On the second page he mentions what looks like, "two characters as of a dialogue" (Whitman). Although this sentence doesn't make sense by itself, I almost feel like Whitman was writing the baseline for a story. After examining his poetry, I can see that many of his poems seem to tell a story and have a much deeper meaning. It is very interesting to think that Whitman may have initially wrote his poems as stories before transferring them to poem format.

After reading what the notebook ACTUALLY says I discovered that the names on page 1 are names and various addresses of people that Whitman knew (Including a tailor). I feel like these may be significant people in his life that have led him to contemplate various ideas or they could simply be written there so that Whitman would not forget where to get his shoes polished. I also discovered that the dialogue that Whitman speaks of is an imaginary one between himself and Abraham Lincoln. Whitman must have felt like Lincoln was a very knowledgeable man and this shows that Whitman was interested in politics to some extent.

As I read further into his journal, I felt like he was trying to convey some sort of life message to me. He uses words such as "you" "questioning" and "liberated". I almost felt as if Whitman was trying to get his readers to evaluate themselves and what they want in life and think critically of each situation. These passages make me think that Whitman was an extremely inquisitive person and that he sought the answers to many of life's mysterious questions. I also think that he wanted his readers to take what they deserved in life and enjoy it to it's fullest.

It was revealed to me that in this section of Whitman's notebook, he is discussing problems that the Union is facing. This once again shows that he is interested in politics and the well being of his country. One word that sticks out is "Libertad". This stands for liberty and I believe it goes along with my idea that Whitman thought each individual should have what they deserve. Whitman was writing for the everyday person and he believed that everyone should have freedom. This excerpt shows that Whitman was a free-thinker and that many of his ideas were edgy. While his ideas may not have been accepted at first, they eventually became respected for the message that they contain.

The last few pages of the journal consist of five different pictures. In the first picture, Whitman appears to be very normal. However, as the pictures go on I feel as though he is portraying himself sadder and sadder. His eyes begin to close and his facial expressions become more serious. The second to last picture is a drawing of him with a hat on looking down and it appears very dark. The very last picture is of a harp and I associate sad music coming from a harp. I think that maybe these pictures symbolize Whitman during a certain time period. He may have become depressed with the realities of life and he was trying to show these in his drawings as he aged.

People who have analyzed Whitman's journal believe that these pictures were not self portraits. It would make sense that he would have someone else draw them. Although this may come across as conceited or cocky, I do not believe that is the case with Whitman. I think he wanted to see himself from an outside perspective so that he could see situations from a different angle. After all, Whitman was writing about himself in many of his poems but he was attempting to make the reader see themselves in him.