Whitman's Notebook

While scrolling through Whitman's notebook I noticed a common occurrence- illegible handwriting. But the page that I was able to make out most clearly was page 10. This page is referencing a ship at the beginning of each fragment, specifically stating, "Ship of the world- ship of humanity- ship of the ages- ship that circles the world- ship of the hope of the world- ship of promise." This ship may be literal, but I interpreted it as metaphorical. I think that the ship he is referring to is possibly a new idea, or perspective on a previously known idea, that has the potential to change the world.

After reading the transcription to Whitman's writing found on page 10 in his notebook, I was pleased to see that the words I made out from the page were correct. Reading why Whitman actually wrote this also went along with my original interpretation that the 'ship' was not literal and was referring to a greater event involving many people. Whitman's reasoning for writing this was that he had, "reached a conclusion at which the president-elect had not yet arrived: that the future of world history was bound up in the success or failure of the America's democratic experiment." The 'ship' could now be seen as either the future of world history as a whole, or the success/failure of the America's democratic experiment. Knowing the reasoning behind Whitman's writing also aided in revealing more about himself. I think it shows how he thinks ahead, and contemplates positive and negative consequences to anything in his present in order to make conclusions.