Seminar Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Seminar - Assignment Example Performing traditional duties of kinghood and being a family man does not provide meaning to life because people are hard to manage and staying at home is unproductive. Ulysses believes that being a king seems useless when subordinates are generally unruly. He thinks that kinghood is senseless: â€Å"†¦I mete and dole/Unequal laws unto a savage race† (Tennyson lines 3-4). Kinghood is meaningless when kings cannot control the laws they pass since many people are affecting their decisions, and it is also meaningless because people generally want to do as they please, like savages. Moreover, Ulysses is discontent as a husband and as a father. He thinks it is boring to stay at home with an â€Å"aged wife† † (Tennyson line 3) and be a father to a son who already knows what to do as a king, even better than he can. He says with pride that Telemachus is â€Å"[m]ost blameless† (Tennyson line 39) and he can serve the people and even the â€Å"household godsà ¢â‚¬  well (Tennyson line 42). In other words, Ulysses does not find himself useful in his kingdom. Instead, he is sure that his destiny lies in his ocean adventures where he is free. In order to have a full life, Ulysses intends to be the King of his fate through freedom and traveling. He thinks that staying in Ithaca will make him grow older faster because his body barely moves and his mind deteriorates in seeing the same things. He says that to be a King is â€Å"[t]o rust unburnishd, not to shine in use!† (Tennyson line 23). Ulysses believes that living on land is the same as rusting, while sailing is to shine. In addition, sailing is the only way of life for Ulysses because he meets new people and gains new knowledge from different experiences, whether they are battles or mere social interactions across the world. He believes in the beauty of exploration and making international social connections: â€Å"Much have I seen and known;