Walt Whitman or Gandalf the Grey

Upon initially looking at Whitman's notebooks I noticed the abundance of strike-throughs, hand-drawn images, and stamps.  I also noticed that everything was written in cursive, which would have been typical of his time and social status, as well as the constant mention of sailing and ships.  I think it's all important in characterizing Whitman.  For instance, the strike-throughs give us evidence to back up that he was a thoughtful man, with potentially scattered thoughts, but with the intent of always wanting the perfect wording of things.  The images, believed to be drawn by others, show us how sociable he was.  He was integrated in society and knew about it because he lived it, unlike other famous recluse poets who comment on the world from their exterior view.  The constant mention of ships and sailing describe a type of conflict, probably inner, that he was dealing with.  I say this because it was always about the waters raging or beating on the ship.  I believe this to be the most important thing he wrote down, in letting us, the reader, know him.

After reading the notes section I now understand that Whitman had a deep fascination with President Lincoln.  He included imaginary talks between the two of them, which seems odd as well as a really cool and bold take on modern poetry.  I also learned that he was a fierce American patriot who sought the end of slavery and the restoration of democracy.  Despite wanting this he seemed pessimistic as he offered thoughts as to what it would be like if the Union fell to the Confederacy during the Civil War.  His ending "is it all then lost?" was really impactful to me, especially during this time when we are in a similar state of nationwide confusion and anger facing death and destruction.  He was seen to struggle with the thought of such things happening to his beloved nation as he spent large helpings of his time at the local bar and in public places socializing.  The more I read the more I believed he was a broken man, who lost himself amidst the sea of terror that was the 1860's. 

Also, the stamps are Library of Congress Stamps.  I thought that it was beautiful that such a patriotic man's work be put in the national library.