Pages of Life

The first thing that stands out on the first page is what appears to be dates because they are numbers followed by “th” although this could also refer to the place of a particular thing in a list which could be a reference to his common use of cataloging. Along with the numbers that are clearly visible on the page, there are a few clear words that seem like names, these are “Lenian” or “Lenan” which stands out the clearest at the top on the page, the i is not clearly marked but the dot above would indicate one. The second name visible appears to be “Cleremont” and then the third readable one is “Charles”. The third name is the most obviously a name and is the easiest to interpret the correct spelling. Moving to the second page, the words are a lot more clear and make what might be coherent sentences.

The page seems to be titled with the word “Dialogue” which is evident because it is underlined and located in the middle of the top of the page. The following sentence is placed right under “Two characters as of a dialogue between A…” the final couple words are not clear but the sentence seems to end with a question mark. The first part that can be easily read could be referencing how the narrator of Whitman’s poems seem to be having a conversation with the person reading. But then the other clear sentence “Lessons for a President elect” sets up the following seven pages of what appears to be a letter to the president. The language of the letter heavily reflects many of the elements that are present in the poems within Leaves of Grass, particularly on the final page of dialogue where he uses anaphora when he repeats “ship of…” at the start of each sentence. He also asks many questions but the words are less clear to read, some at the very beginning seems to pertain to philosophy in some way. This dialogue could his way of reflecting on his own philosophies and values which he would then put into his poems, this is evident as the handwriting becomes more sloppy which would suggest it is more train of thought base rather then well-contemplated ideas.

What follows this dialogue is the most intriguing element of the journal, which just by looking at the images alone in the order of their page numbers, there seems to be a story of a man growing old and ultimately dying. The first picture is a profile of a man's face which appears to be older but still on the younger side, as he lacks many wrinkles and looks relatively put together. The second profile of the man is very similar in artists ability but showcases more elements of aging such as a longer beard, out of place hair and significantly more wrinkles on the forehead. As well, the nose stands out (partially because it is highlighted by the notes and so looking at it is unavoidable) because of how it is now shaded, which would indicate a blush or sickness that is causing it to turn red, but as well, reddened noses are often something present on older men. Another aspect of this sketch is the body which previously had not been drawn. The body appears almost as if it has been drawn in a different art style which is reminiscent of more modern political or Disney cartoons, whereas the profile of the face is very realistic and correctly proportioned, unlike a cartoon.

The third image gives the man a hat which resembles one that you might expect a traveling hobo to wear in the movie rendition of Bud, Not Buddy. This picture again shows age, mostly around the eyes with them being lowered, almost closed, suggesting tiredness, and the increase in the number of wrinkles. The next image is a much less detailed drawing, it could almost be another artist version of the third image. This shows the man as much angrier with a huge frown on his face, and shading that could suggest anger or sorrow. Skipping down to the final image that depicts a human, the man is now a skull, which has been stabbed through the heart with the background of what looks like a sunset. The meaning of this is not clear other than its depiction of death. Because of this final image of the man, the other images would seem to be showing the man as he aged and progressed towards death. The two images skipped over of the harp and the newspaper heading, do not have any stand out meaning.

Going into the notes on this journal, the first thing which I failed to notice was the presence of addresses on the first page of writing, which presents an explanation for the names and numbers. The second note gives insight into who the president of the time was, Abraham Lincoln which helps gives some context to other aspects of the dialogue such as the repetition of the word “ship” on the final few pages. The notes also help to make clear that the difficult parts of the writing to read were abbreviations of names. The notes confirm my understanding of the dialogue as being Whitman's way of discussing his own philosophies and values, and the presentation of this in a “brochure”, an imaginary title that would indicate this to be something that would be shared knowledge. Furthering my understanding, the notes help to decipher the more difficult parts of the written text and tell me that Whitman is discussing and comparing religions, which could be what results in his goal of becoming the Kosmos. The notes that follow explain the meaning of the dialogue that I couldn't really read, and so it did not stand out to me, but finally, they get to the discussion of the sketches. The notes look at the images as separate from each other to an extent, with the “older” man just being a drawing of a drinking buddy, and the final image of death being an allegory for America. Looking at them in such a way does make sense, but with there presentation to me in the particular order makes me wonder if my interpretation is not correct, or maybe just an unintentional message that reflects Whitman's own aging and existence and how it differs from his God-like portrayal of himself in his poems. These highlight what is revealed about Whitman himself as an individual, which differs greatly from his poems which connect to the universal “everything”.