Walt Whitman Notebooks

Walt Whitman was a great writer, but his handwriting was subpar to say the least.  I could understand best page seven.  From this page I interpreted that he is talking about a struggle of some kind.  He is comparing a challenge with the challenge of sailing.  He states that "anybody can sail with a fair wind and smooth seas."  By saying that he is implying that anyone can be successful without is they face no adversity.  He explains in the beginning that he welcomes the storms and trials and that he wants the waves to come.  I interpreted this as he wants to be challenged in life and in his endeavors.  I think this is referring to his career.

After reading the interpretation of what he said on page seven, I understand that he was not talking about himself as much as he was talking about other endeavors in life.  The extract specifically resembled a poem he wrote about the civil war.  I think it is interesting that he talks about the endeavor using first person.  This is why I interpreted his words as speaking about his own strength.  After reading that it was about the Civil War it makes me wonder if he views war as a necessary evil because he references that the he welcomes the challenges.