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One of the first things I noticed was the front of his notebook looked like it had a cross on it. I saw some words like "What then, "Because the ...welcome," and things that looked half drawn. The significance of these words and half drawings are to show his doubt. Whitman is showing how he is doubting himself and that doubt is being shown through how he phrases his sentences and how he questions himself. Looking at the diary again, I see Whitman wrote them to reflect on his sadness. He was remembering his friend and then what happened to him as a result. He needed to reflect on all that happened.
What is revealed is that he often questions his work. We can make the assumption that Whitman is a perfectionist. He wants everything to be how he saw it in his mind, and if it doesn't come out that then he comes to Abe for help. He may see Abe as a leader and someone who Whitman can ask for help.
This reveals that Whitman is questions himself constantly but still feels the need to ask for reassurance. It reveals that he deals with sadness by writing and talking. He needs to talk to someone about what he is going through. After losing his friend he needed to talk to someone. Abe Lincoln was the person that he wanted to talk to because Lincoln was someone who went through a tough life.
