Whitman's+Notebooks

In reading Whitman’s notebooks, I found page twenty of his “Earliest Notebook” intriguing for it provided insights into the author’s religious views and his perception of his position in society. This entry refers to God a number of times as Whitman’s “superior” and claims that the author will “be the little pair of hands that guide the cart.” In the poems we have discussed in class, Whitman does not explicitly mention God as a deity, but simply alludes to the existence of an over-soul present in all individuals through mentions of the “soul.” His willingness to address wholly his religious beliefs in a personal notebook as opposed to in his publicly published works shows that he may have been a man who struggled with his faith, and was not entirely confident enough in his views of God to share them with the world. However, knowing that he is a Transcendentalist, I expected for him to see himself as a subordinate of God. In this way, his mention of being the guide of a cart show that he wishes to be humble by being “little,” but also has hopes of being influential through following the Lord and leading others to Him. However, it is shocking to read Whitman’s description of the “sly or shallow” who categorize men as either good or evil. As a follower of God, a deity who does this, the author shows that he does not entirely agree with God’s judgment system. This claim displays Whitman’s courage to rise against the established religious values of his time, a trait which I respect, for he does not wished to be judged by anyone for several moral or immoral actions he may have committed during his life, and instead wishes to simply live his life as he believes he should.