In the poem "Sea Fever" by John Masefield, what seems to be the attitude toward giving in to restlessness and following a whim?Do you agree or...

This is an interesting question, because if we look at the
poem carefully I am not too sure that the speaker is merely following a "whim" as you
describe it in your question when he states his desire to go back to the sea. If we have
a look at the way he describes his desire, it is almost as if it were a compulsion
rather than something as paltry as a "whim." Consider the way that each stanza begins
with the opening refrain: "I must go down to the seas again..." This speaks of something
that is somewhat stronger than a mere whim. Clearly, the speaker is feeling incredibly
restless and intensely desires to return to the sea, however I would argue that the "Sea
Fever" that he suffers from is actually something like a compulsion rather than a mere
idea or capricious thought.

As to whether the speaker is
"right" to give in to this compulsion, I think the poem clearly depicts above all the
deep and enduring love that the speaker has for the sea. The sea, to the speaker, seems
to be life itself, and he longs to feel alive in the way that he is only able to when he
is out on the sea:

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And all I ask is a windy day with the white
clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and
the sea gulls
crying.

Therefore, I don't
see that there is anything wrong with desiring to see and experience again what your
heart and your whole being cries out for, in the way that the speaker obviously longs
for his return to the sea. His desire to return will obviously impact nobody negatively,
and so I think he should be free to follow his heart's desire.