Witty Whitman

One of the first things that I immediately notice after looking at Walt Whitman's notebook is that it is extremely old and very hard to make out words. However, after studying it a bit more I can see the statement "Why, now I shall know whether there is anything in you, Libertad, I shall see how much you can stand." This is a very daunting statement. It is almost as if he is skeptical about the durability of the United States and its constitution. This may serve to show that Whitman is a cautious and pessimistic individual, however this way of thinking was probably very prevalent during the time it was written (1860-1861) because the American Civil War was just beginning, which would be the largest threat ever to the United States Constitution. Another interesting thing to note is that he is talking to "Libertad" (liberty) as if it were a person. This is a creative element that may foreshadow a tendency to use personification as a literary element to develop a different perspective on certain issues.

He then uses a metaphor to compare liberty to a ship, after saying "Does the queen of England represent a thousand years? And the queen of Spain a thousand years? And you welcome the storm - welcome the trial." This is almost taunting the United States. It seems as if he is on the outside looking into America during the Civil War and judging the United States and doubting its ability to remain a strong nation. This makes sense, given that the country it revolted against has been in place for a very long time and the United States has not even been a nation for 100 years at this point, but this may represent a form of skepticism towards the United States, which I think is a theme throughout this journal. I think that Whitman will use many metaphors in order to give the reader a new perspective on a certain issues.

According to what Whitman actually wrote and why he wrote it, I am fairly accurate in my own analysis of the text. He appears to have little hope in the United States, questioning its ability to withstand trials and tribulations. However, I am wrong in that I observed that it seemed as if Whitman was an outsider looking in on the American Civil War. According to the official analysis, Whitman was living in the United States during the Civil War and even volunteered as a nurse in it. I was also correct about Whitman's metaphor comparing liberty to a ship. According to the official analysis, this metaphor foreshadows further metaphors that add a new perspective on things. For example, Whitman will go on to compare Abraham Lincoln as a captain of a ship, giving the reader a different perspective and new insight on the matter.