When reading my post-antebellum packet I struggled to get through both pieces by Walt Whitman. For some reason I just didn't care. I tried to, but I didn't. I'm searching deep in my soul to relate and value these poems because I feel like in order to be an intellectual "cool" person I need to like Walt Whitman. This leads to my first question, is it bad that I don't get it? I get the general ideas of what he saying, yet something in his wording really turns me off. I like the idea behind the line about how every sprout reminds there is no such thing as death but at the same time resent him for saying it. I feel like if I met Walt Whitman at a party I would think, "that guy is annoying and pretentious." When I expressed these thoughts to my boyfriend he was confused explaining that Whitman is one of his favorites. Am I ignorant? Incapable of understanding great writing? Or is it okay that Walk Whitman is just not up my alley?
What draws us to the writing that we enjoy? Is it wrong to embrace what we like and accept what we don't? How do we train or brain to think differently? Except new styles of writing? I could talk someone's ear off about themes that run through Jacqueline Susann books. I think she's brilliant. I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't say so. Should I embrace my taste in writing and accept the fact that I may never like many of the great authors of our time? I feel conflicted because as much as my brain wants to grow and learn and appreciate new things a big part of it is stubborn and rooted in the fact that I like what I like.
In general though I am super excited about the time period we are going to be covering in this class. My History class left off last semester right after the Civil War. I am so interested in the Reconstruction Era. The Civil War surely did not end on the battle fields and perhaps continues in many parts of the country today. By no means I am a Southern sympathizer but I was watching a documentary once where a man said something along the lines of that during the Civil War if you lived in the North you didn't necessarily feel the effects of the War. If you lived in the South, however, everyone felt it. I think it is not surprising that the South acted the way it did after the War. Their whole economy had been destroyed. This doesn't excuse their cruel viscous actions, but it somewhat explains it. Perhaps Lincoln would have been up for the challenge of bringing the country back together but it seems to me like Andrew Johnson didn't really care.
Sorry for the Reconstruction rant. I just watched a couple Netflix documentaries this winter break and apparently get passionate about it...
