Growing up in a questionable situation can be difficult for anyone. Telemachus has been raised without his father, a lost man whose location and status are unknown, and is now facing an assortment of struggles through uninvited guests and complicated circumstances that are testing him and his abilities. Through the first four books of Homer’s The Odyssey, Telemachus is able to set up the story for the rest of Homer’s tale. He experiences predicaments of his own as the journey begins. However, the purpose of the writing goes beyond an introduction; he himself undergoes character maturity. In this section of The Odyssey, Telemachus is learning about the world and society through Athena as a mentor, the suitors’ actions as guests, and the stories …show more content…
For Telemachus, the usual leadership from his father is nonexistent due to Odysseus’s absence through misfortune. If there were no outside intervention from a concerned spectator, he may have missed his opportunity to take a stand and have control of his situation. Athene, the daughter of Zeus, stepped in to be his guiding force and mentor by instructing Telemachus to, “call the Achaean heroes in assembly tomorrow morning- lay your case before them, and call heaven to bear you witness,” and, “take the best ship you can get, with a crew of twenty men, and go in quest of your father who has been so long missing” (10). Athene stepped in in order to instruct Telemachus of what must be done. Had she not arrived at dinner that evening, he may have continued to live only in hope of Odysseus’s return rather than actively seeking answers. As a child, he waits for what he wants. As a man, he is ready to travel and discover for himself. Telemachus is learning how to stand up for what he believes in and the answers he hopes to …show more content…
Telemachus had the chance to listen to Menelaus tell his story, as well as that of Odysseus. Menelaus said he had, “covered himself with wounds and bruises, dressed himself all in rags, and entered the enemy’s city looking like a menial or a beggar, and quite different from when he was among his own people. In this disguise he entered the city of Troy, and no one said anything to him” (47). In the most literal sense, Telemachus is hearing of his father’s endeavors and eventually his current whereabouts. However, he is receiving more than just this information. He is being informed of a tale of his father’s strength and determination; Odysseus changed his appearance and played a part in order to return to his camp safely. He outwitted those around him and made an educated decision rather than a foolish one. Telemachus can hear these stories of how intelligent and cunning his father is, and likewise learn how to act himself. As he listened to the truth about Odysseus’s victories small and large alike, Telemachus gained important knowledge about how to succeed when the odds may not be in his
The Odyssey is about perilous quests, wars, and a man who just wants to come home. The Telemachia is important because it establishes the problem at Odysseus’ home, reveals facts about Odysseus, and shows that the gods favor Odysseus and Telemachus.
Through Telemachus, Odyssues’ son, the reader sees Odysseus’ utter dependence upon the gods’ aid. During Telemachus’ journey, all those th...
In Odyssey, Homer creates a parallel between Odysseus and Telemachos, father and son. The two are compared in the poem from every aspect. One parallel was the quest of Telemachos, in correlation with the journey of his father. In this, Odysseus is developed from a childish, passive, and untested boy, to a young man preparing to stand by his father's side. This is directly connected to the voyage of Odysseus, in that they both lead to the same finale, and are both stepping-stones towards wisdom, manhood, and scholarship.
At some point in their life, many people experience feelings of inadequacy or uncertainty. In “The Odyssey” by Homer, one of the main characters Telemachus experiences both of these feelings. He feels that he is not good enough, especially compared to his father, Odysseus, who many people refer to as a great leader. In the beginning of “The Odyssey”, Telemachus’ home has been taken over by suitors, each with the goal of winning over his mother, in hopes to marry her and become king. Telemachus is not fond of these men in his home, but does not have the confidence to get rid of them. Lastly, at this point in the story, Odysseus, Telemachus’ father, has been gone for approximately twenty years, most of Telemachus’ life. Telemachus has been
Throughout The Odyssey Telemachus grows in character from an unprepared teen to a young man who could one day rule Ithaca. He has many experiences traveling to learn more about his father and many that occur on Ithaca once Odysseus returns. All of these events help to shape him into the assertive young man he becomes.
In the epic poem The Odyssey, Homer portrays Telémakhos, the son of Odysseus, as a young man trying to find his place in the world. The opening part of the book, the Telemakhiad (the first four books in the poem) is perhaps meant to be a bildungsroman, which studies the maturation of a young character by focusing on this maturation with respect to his or her traits and environment by, in turn, making him or her face a series of social encounters. Starting out little more than a boy, Telémakhos matures over the course of the Telemakhiad and finds himself close to achieving his implied dream of being a manor rather of becoming one like his hero of a father. Indeed, the Telemakhiad, the story of Telémakhos' short yet crucial adventure to find his father, fits the description of a bildungsroman; Telémakhos, being taught and initiated in the ways of the world by the actions of Athena, matures a great deal in the open of the book alone.
When Odysseus finally returns, he and Telemachus, with the help of Athena, construct a plan to murder the suitors. In order to succeed, Odysseus must keep his identity a secret. To do so, “Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar and directs him to the hut of Eumaeus, his old and faithful swineherd.” (Homer 717). Athena’s ability to disguise Odysseus from being seen results in a victory for him and Telemachus against the suitors, and in turn represents how she is a hero. Finally, after twenty years, Odysseus returns home. Because he has been gone so long, Telemachus doubts if Odysseus is really his father. Telemachus questions his change in appearance, and Odysseus replies with “ As for my change of skin that is a charm Athena’s, Hope of Soldiers uses as she will, she has the knack to make me seem as a beggar man sometimes and sometimes young, with finer clothes about me”( Homer 719). Odysseus’ response portrays how Athena is able to change Odysseus into any form that is needed, making there revenge much easier, and giving her a vital part of the
In The Odyssey, Homer highlights the character development of Telemahkos, the son of Odysseus. In the beginning of the book, Telemahkos is described as, “...for he, too, /was sitting there unhappy among the suitors,/ a boy, daydreaming.” (1, 144-146) He doesn’t know much about his identity, and doubts that he is the son of the great Odysseus. With some help from Athena, by the end of the book Telemahkos is sure of who he is, and takes pride in knowing that he is the son of Odysseus. When given a challenge, Telemahkos is able to thrive and prove he is strong, brave, and a leader.
The Hero’s Journey is never an easy one. This particular journey, as detailed in Homer’s The Odyssey, is one of struggle, loss, heartache, pain, growth and triumph. It is comprised of many steps that Odysseus has to overcome and battle through in order to achieve his final goal of reaching his home and his loved ones. From the Call to Adventure to the Freedom or Gift of living, Odysseus conquered them all. The story begins in the middle of the story, as many of the oral Greek traditions did, with the Journey of Telemachus to find his father. Although Telemachus has not yet met his father, it is almost as if they are journeying together, where the end of both of their journeys results in being reunited. Telemachus journeys from being a boy to becoming a man, while out in the sea Odysseus is battling Poseidon to return to the home that wife that he loves and the home he has left behind.
Over their travels in the epic The Odyssey, both Odysseus’ and his son Telemachus’ adventures were parallel but at the same time different. These travels led them both to grow and change drastically, and both learned some very important life lessons over the course of this epic.
In the first four books of Homer’s The Odyssey, the character of Telemachus undergoes a dramatic evolution. When Homer first introduces him, he appears to be an unsophisticated youth, wallowing in self-pity. After the goddess Athena intervenes, he becomes, seemingly, a man of courage, strength, and resolve. On closer analysis, however, one remains to wonder if this transformation is genuine. The rapidity of his change in personality and the assistance he requires from the goddess at every stage in his journey suggests that he is not yet a hero in the mold of his father, the great Odysseus.
Throughout the last books of The Odyssey Homer tells us how Odysseus restores his relationships with his friends and relatives at Ithaca. Perhaps one of the most revealing of these restoration episodes is Odysseus' re-encounter with his son, Telemachus. This re-encounter serves three main purposes. First, it serves to portray Telemachus' likeness to his father in the virtues of prudence, humility, patience, and planning. Secondly, it is Odysseus' chance to teach his son to be as great a ruler as Odysseus himself is. Lastly, Homer uses this re-encounter to emphasize the importance of a family structure to a society. To be able to understand the impact that this meeting had on Odysseus it is necessary to see that Telemachus has grown since his first appearances in the poem and obviously since his last contact with his father; Odysseus left Telemachus as an infant now their relationship is a man to man relationship rather than a man to child relationship.
...sniveling coward who would faint at the sight of blood, or worse yet, a traitor who would warn the suitors of Odysseus' plans. Apparently, Odysseus believes that since Telemachus was his son that was a good enough reason to trust him. (jackhdavid)” This quote shows how that even though Telemachus didn’t know his father, right when he found out who he was, he loved him automatically like if he knew him for years and stood by his side to do anything he needed to make Ithaca better for his family and his people. This father-son relationship is different than any other, they actually spend more time apart than they do together, and it is through distance that they develop respect and love for one another.
In the Odyssey, Telemachus, son of great hero Odysseus, who grows up in the world of greed and disrespect where the suitors take over his palace and court his mother, is one of the most significant character throughout the whole epic. His father, Odysseus, leaving the land Ithaca for 20 years, is the only warrior alive in Trojan war who hasn’t make his return home. During Telemachus’ expedition to search for the news of his father, he is under a process of maturation from the beginning in which he is mere a shadow of his father to the end in which he becomes more and more like him in terms of initiative, sensitivity and socialization.
middle of paper ... ... In Homer’s Odyssey, both Odysseus and his son Telemachus embark on long, difficult journeys; Odysseus trying to return from Troy to his home in Ithaca, escaping Calypso and the island of Ogygia, and Telemachus from Ithaca to Pylos and Sparta in search of his lost father. While The Odyssey tells of the courage both men demonstrate during their respective travels, their quests are the results of the intentions and desires of gods. Odysseus is trapped in exile on Ogygia by the will of Poseidon, whose anger Odysseus attracts when he blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, and by the love of Calypso, who wishes to make Odysseus her husband.