Witty Whitman

During the time of late 1860-1861, Walt Whitman kept a journal that consisted of everything and anything that came to his mind at any given time. The journal is very disorganized and includes both legible phrases as well as scribbled out ideas. Just from the first few pages, I got the idea that Whitman joted down anything that came to his mind that he found as a profound realization. It seems as though Whitman was philosophical and liked to question and arguably reason about ideas/issues prevalent to his society. In fact, Whitman seemed to be ahead of the typical 1860s mindset, as he introduced his concern for what the future holds for both the United States and humanity as a whole.

For the most part, the original writing is quite difficult to translate; however, I was able to decode some of his non-scribbled notes. Some actually legible accounts I observed were the statements, “Come now we will see what stuff you are made of”, “welcome this menace”, “ship of hope, ship of promise.” As Whitman imaginably speaks of this to Lincoln, I believe he is speaking of overcoming difficulties. This, in turn, makes us stronger and gives us hope for the future. Now, it seems as though Whitman could only be speaking of the subject of war politics; yet, I think there is a deeper meaning behind what he states (because of his philosophical nature). This part of the conversation – or maybe even the entire conversation – could be a catalyst for more complex ideas that are pertinent to humanity.

Now, when going back and looking at the analysis and translation of the journal, I saw that I was on the right path. By saying these things, Whitman was alluding to the idea of “weathering the storm”. This means that we all experience difficult circumstances, but we survive and get through them to become even stronger. This could mean that Whitman personally came across many trials in his own life, as he got through them and realized the values behind the experiences. When he used the word “ship”, it is noted that Whitman was referring to the Ship of State – captained by Mr. Lincoln. It’s later said that Lincoln will face challenges far more harrowing than previous presidents, such as the Civil War. Latter, Whitman’s diary seems to emphasize his high concern for the political future of the nation, while also exemplifying his expertise in poetic literature/literary devices.