Walt Whitman
Whitman Analysis:
After looking at the "Document" tab on the New York Times website about Whitman's work, I noticed many different details. The first aspect of Whitman's work is the notebook itself. The old leather and worn paper reflect both the value of the notebook and the older time period that Whitman lived in. The worn leather and pages show how used the notebook is and that Whitman always would carry it with him. The work inside of looks like a rough draft of a dialog with Abraham Lincoln created by Whitman. It looks like a rough draft because of the crossed out and written in a sloppy handwriting. The images in the notebook are reflections of the dialogue of his work and help the reader understand the events by using images. One of the more significant things in his work is a reflection of what is going on in life, such as hinting at a mid-life crisis. This also helps reveals Whitman's inner thoughts and how his everyday life is during this time period. Overall, Whitman uses words and images to create a story, which also hints and reveals his inner thoughts and his current life.
The original writing in Whitman's notebook is very difficult to decipher. After moving to the "Notes" tab on the website, I was able to read what was actually said in his work. It revealed a more in-depth summary of the created dialogue between Whitman and Lincoln, despite the fact that they have never spoked to each other. I was able to learn about his opinion on religion, his background, thoughts and opinions, as well as the reason so some of the images. Most of my analysis was correct and my inferences based off of his work, but I was able to learn and go more in depth once I read the translated version and analysis of Whitman's work. He is a very creative writer and I am very interested to see how this relates and connects to his other works in Leaves of Grass.
Dilly Dilly Mr. Bush, and a happy birthday to you. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing your perspective here about Walt Whitman's life. I agree with you that the notes section of the article is much more interesting and easier to read, as I also was able to grasp a bigger picture of Whitman's inner life. Overall, your blog post is good, but could probably use a little more in depth analysis.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone can agree on the statement that this was very difficult to decipher. Where you able to depict anything before reading the notes section? I agree with you that he was a very creative writer and I think it is important to point out that the true meaning of these conversations he had between the president. Through these conversation we are able to see Whitman views on religion and civil war clearly as if he was discussing them with the president face to face. Overall great post man.
ReplyDeleteI had a very similar reaction to the documents tab in that it was tough to comprehend but blemishes like crossed out words and the worn pages you talked about stood out. I also thought it was cool how you thought Whitman's images to be like a story which revealed his inner thoughts. I also liked how you ended the post by connecting it back to Leaves of Grass, as there are evident parallels between the two. Good work man.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at the notes tab, everything seemed to make sense and also not everything was relvealed such as why he used code names for Lincoln. Whitman had structure in his journal which makes it seem like a rough draft for a bigger project? The sloppy writing could have been so no one else can understand along with things that are crossed off so no one else could see?
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