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Ulysses (Click to select text)
Throughout Ulysses, Tennyson portrays through his hero, a sense that life is a whole lot more than just a preparation for death; it is necessary, in order to have a life to be satisfied with, you mustn’t "rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use” When Ulysses says this, he means that your whole life, you need to be making progress, doing miraculous things. Not just living, “[a]s tho’ to breathe were life!” I, like Ulysses have had experiences that have led me to believe that throughout life, you must always be making progress, and striving for better things. For Ulysses, miraculous things, mean seeing "cities of men [a]nd manners, climates, councils...” Having “drunk delight of battle...” For me, doing miraculous things, are things that most people are afraid to do. Afraid because of the restraints that they put on themselves. Things like speaking of seeming unrealistic dreams, extreme sports, etc. Technically, these things are different, but in essence, they have the same meaning. Ulysses, like me yearns to do miraculous things. To never grow mentally old. I feel this way, because look at people in this society, and I just see a hoard of people [t]hat hoard and sleep, and feed…” My life means a whole lot more to me than that. I refuse to just get through life, working a job 40 hours a week until I’m 65, and then retire in Florida with 2 kids. I want to be rich, live like a king. I want to do all there is to do under the sun, and most impertinently on my deathbed, I want to be satisfied in every respect. A particular experience that led me to these beliefs, happened my junior year in High School. I was at my friend Dan Bernstein’s house, and we were swimming in his pool. It was a very hot summer day, and I was trying to teach him how to do an inward dive off of his diving board. As a competing diver, I had been taught to go into the water, and rip through to the bottom, bringing my hands to my sides. Dan’s pool was approximately six feet deep, and when I dove in, my head struck the bottom, and my head snapped forward very hard. At that moment, everything flashed bright white, and I felt a terrible pain in the back of my neck. When I realized that I could swim to the top, I knew I wasn’t paralyzed, but I was still worried. So I had Dan call my mom. Upon the arrival of my message, she told Dan to call an ambulance now. When I got to the hospital, I had already been taped to a backboard, with a neck brace, and the whole deal. It turned out that all I had done was torn a ligament. After the whole ordeal, I thought about what happened, and what could have happened. And then coincidentally, I saw a quote the next day that really inspired me: “If you had one day to live, who would you call, what would you do, why are you waiting?” Since that day, I have been striving to make the absolute most of myself. After much complaining, and sorrowful reminiscing, Ulysses, begins to speak more positively, he starts to uplift the mood. He talks about a new journey that he will go on. A journey with death as the destination. Like me, Ulysses, suddenly saw the light, and realized that he could die at any time. And he needed to make something of his life. That was exactly what happened to me. I made that realization, because I realized I could die as soon as tomorrow, so I must begin a journey. A journey that will go to my grave!” I, like Ulysses have had experiences that have led me to believe that throughout life, you must always be making progress, and striving for better things.
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