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I found Whitman at the promenade in Ikea at Red Hook, Brooklyn. I found Whitman here because the boats in the background really appeal to me. In the poem “Mannahatta”, Whitman speaks about the steamships and shuttles and the ones in the background reminded me of what he wrote. The background had no skylines like today’s Manhattan and I felt like the scenery was like Manhattan during Whitman’s times, where when you looked out from Brooklyn to Manhattan, the tall buildings werent’ built yet. The water taxi’s also arrives and departs here which is another reason why I found Whitman here, the water taxi’s are like the modern day shuttle ferries from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

This course was very different from all the other courses that I’ve taken before. When I first signed up for a Literature course, I did not expect the class to be like this. This class was much more advanced in technology then any other English courses I’ve taken. I had in my mind that we would read and write papers throughout the course. We did do that but the way we wrote our papers in this class; it was more enjoyable in my opinion. I like that we had blogs to write our weekly posts because although it is like handing in a paper every week, it wasn’t like writing an essay every time. Our blog posts were more of casual writing then an essay.
Another thing I enjoyed about this class was the walking tours we went on. I did not only learn about Whitman and his literature but also about many historic landmarks in Brooklyn. The walking tours were like mini field trips and they were great experiences. It was nice to get out of the classrooms and go to these places in Brooklyn that held so much history. It’s good to read and learn about the places that we went to but it was even better to go and explore the actual places.
I’ve learned a lot in this class and gained knowledge that will help me in my future. Besides learning about the works of Whitman, I also learned other things like creating a blog and flickr, I also learned new ways of researching and this will definitely be helpful to me in my future.

Franklin Evans

When I started to read Franklin Evans, the term “temperance” kept coming up, but I was not clear of what it meant. When I was reading the introduction to Franklin Evans, in the Whitman and Social Reform section, I read that Whitman was asked to compose a temperance novel for the New World. I had no idea what a temperance novel was either. The first lines were “Due largely to Whitman’s capacity for self-mythologizing, readers today may know more about the events leading to the writing of Franklin Evans than about the novel itself.” I concluded from this that the term temperance was used for events or happenings that occurred during the era that Franklin Evans was published. Also in the same section, it is stated that “Temperance fiction was highly formulaic, abounding with sensational scenes of sin, corruption, and violence.” I had an idea of what a temperance novel was afterwards but in my head I had doubts that Franklin Evans incorporates those themes or anything similar in the book because Whitman’s Leaves of Grass was absolutely the opposite of a temperance novel.  And then once I started to read the novel, I was getting the sense that the writing was indeed different. This novel is about a young man, Franklin Evans who travels to America in search for the New World. Yet once he arrives, series of events happens to him, for example, like when he goes bankrupt and starts engaging in drinking. Although Whitman jokes about how he wrote this temperance novel in a matter of 3 days while he was drunk off cocktails, as stated in the introduction, “Franklin Evans is not so different from the figures of failed reform that  populate American media today: those who cannot stop eating, cheating, or defrauding stockholders.” I feel like this is true because even today, these events are still happening.

 

Nicole from our tour guide staff, singing Freedom. Class walking towards the monument.

Plaque in front of the monument.

At the steps of the monument, Nicole sang Freedom to OdeLooking up at the monument.

Greg showed us his vintage postcards of the monument and park.

Walking down the steps to see the vault where they held the remains of the prisoners.

The door to the vault is to the left, it is a teal colored steel door. Class walking to exit the park.

Fort Greene Park sign in the background, here Greg was telling us about the history of some of the addresses Whitman lived at. Class walking to exit the park.Walt Whitman houses on Myrtle Ave across the street from the park Class walking to 99 Reyson Street.

This is 99 Reyson Street, the building that Whitman once lived in. It is the same foundation, just that the building has been renovated throughout the years.

 The tour was a great experience for me, I learned alot about the Park and it’s history and it was great to go see the actual building Whitman once resided at because it is the only building that is still in standing today.