Comparing Telemakhos And Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

As I grew up, I would always hear comments from people saying that I look like my mom. One time someone even mistook the both of us as sisters….hahaha. I would get compliments from people saying that I grew to be smart and beautiful like my mom. My mom and I would both turn our heads at the same time to look at each other and we both knew what we were thinking: “there’s no way we’re alike.” A father and son rejoice together in a tearful moment after many long years. Because Odysseus has not returned home for twenty years since the Trojan War, Telemakhos, son of Odysseus, did not grow up with any fatherly influence. After their joyful reunion, it is made clear of how both of them are very much alike. Even though Telemakhos and Odysseus were separated, Telemakhos showed that he is worthy of being Odysseus’s son. He has the qualities of a great ruler: courage, hospitality, leadership; he looks up to Odysseus as his role model by creating a trustworthy relationship; he is also growing into manhood by asserting his authority. They also have a father and son bonding time which shows that they both act their own father and son roles.

As a child, Telemakhos was told stories of the great Odysseus, but he has never met his father. “O Father, all my life your fame as a fighting man has echoed in my ears - your skill with weapons and the tricks of war - but what you speak of is a staggering thing, beyond imagining, for me” (XVI.297). After Odysseus comes back home, the two plot a plan to get rid of the suitors once and for all. He always followed his father’s orders so the plan would go smoothly. “Then he fell silent, and Telemakhos obeyed his father’s word” (XIX.353). Telemakhos showed that he respected his father and that he considers him as his role model. Like most father and son relationships, the son often looks up to the father; this is exactly like Odysseus and