Telemachus Allusion

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Ba, Daddy, babbo, papa, padre and baba are some of the terminology one can use to say father. One is particular is Telemachus. Ocean Vuong was born in the Vietnam and moved to the United States when he was just a child. In one of his interviews, Vuong mention about his father, saying that when he was very young his father was imprisoned for abusing his mother. Poetry and writing can be based off of personal experience and perspectives. By using his personal experiences about his father, the author, Ocean Vuong, creates writing full of echoes, memories and associations in his writing.
The author uses the literary device allusion when he is talking about Telemachus because those who are familiar with Greek myths will know who Telemachus is. Telemachus was the son of Odysseys and Penelope, who helped his father get rid of his mother’s suitors. In the story of the Odyssey, Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War, when Telemachus was just a toddler and Telemachus did not reunite with his father until he was pretty much a grown adult. By naming the title of his poem Telemachus, Ocean Vuong is making a connection between the mythical figure Telemachus and a missing father figure in someone’s life. This showed how in most of Telemachus’ life he did not grow up with …show more content…

By closing one’s eyes, the words of the poem bring images. “Like any good son, I pull my father out of the water, drag him by his hair through the sand, his knuckles craving a trail the waves rush in to erase it” (Vuong stanza 1-3) and “I kneel beside him to see how far I might sink” Vuong stanza 3-4) are two very descriptively lines that can be easily visualize and pictured. This showcases example of the literary device, imagery, where the author, Ocean Vuong, creates mental images for the readers. Ocean Vuong allows the readers to see the different memories or associate with his memories when reading his very vivid

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