In the story of the Odyssey, Odysseus’ son, Telemachus journey was to find his father which forces him to become a man along the way. Telemachus being the son of King Odysseus and Queen Penelope, he knew one day his would become king to the throne. But while, his father, Odysseus was away on his own personal adventure; there was no one in the house whole to teach Telemachus to be a true man or be able to the place of king of the throne. And just like any other young man, he would needed a significant male role model to help him go through his evolution to become a true man. In the beginning of the story, Telemachus was just a 19/20 year old young man, who had never seen his father. So at that point in his life, he was a bit immature and inexperience. In addition, he also didn’t know whether to think his father is alive or died. But when he begin his adventure the grown and changes in Telemachus evolution is displayed. In Ithaca people live by the standard of xenia, so when the thirteen suitors …show more content…
One he started the journey, the changes and growth in Telemachus were showcased every step of his adventure looking for his father. When Athena spoke with Telemachus, she never came to talk to him in her true form. She would always come in the form of men named Mentor and Mentees. These two men play a huge role in Telemachus’ journey to find his father. They advise him to see Nestor the king of Pylos. Nestor was the last person to see odyssey and the oldest man to fight in the Trojan War. Next, Nestor would advise Telemachus that his father is still alive then tell him to see Menelaus. Menelaus is the king of Sparta and he also the person who declared war on Troy. Nestor tell him to prepare for whatever Menelaus. If was father was died to prepare a proper funeral for him or if he is alive to wait for him until he return
And how smart Odysseus was “And no one could there hope to rival Odysseus, not for sheer cunning-at every twist of strategy he excelled us all.” (p.111 134-136). After talking with old King Nestor Telemachus and Athena sailed off toward Sparta to meet with King Menelaus. They arrived during a double wedding for the king’s two children, where King Menelaus tells them his story “No man alive could rival Zeus, ...but among men, I must say, few if any could rival me in riches.” (p.127 87-90). Then he starts grieving for Odysseus “That man who makes sleep hateful, even food, as I pour over his memory. No one, no Achaean labored as hard as Odysseus…how they mourn him too, Laertes, Penelope, and Telemachus as well.” (p. 127-128 120-126) as well as Telemachus.
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
Telemachus shows unwavering devotion to a man he does not even know, simply because that man is his father. Showing not only unyielding loyalty but respect for a man whose stories he has only heard. In fact when Telemachus first meets Odysseus, after being convinced it really is his father, he immediately agrees to help the man take revenge, doing everything as his father orders as if he had known the man all his life. (pg. 346; 270-288) Thus showing extreme amounts of devotion to his father, never wavering even when, they are outnumbered by the suitors. Interestingly enough not only does Telemachus show unwavering loyalty to his father, but he constantly tries to prove himself to Odysseus. “Telemachus reassured him, / “Now you’ll see, if you care to watch, father, / now I’m fired up. Disgrace, you say? / I won’t disgrace your line!” ” (pg. 484; 564 – 567) Not only does this show that Telemachus is loyal to Odysseus and his sire’s line, but that Telemachus also wishes to serve his father and never give him cause to be ashamed.
Telemachus and Pisistratus arrive at Sparta. When they arrive Menelaus is hosting a double wedding feast for his son and daughter. Then, Menelaus serves Telemachus and Pisistratus food. Telemachus is amazed by Menelaus of how he takes care of the palace. Menelaus tells him a story that he has been wandering the sea for seven years and discovered that his brother Agamemnon was murdered. He also shared Telemachus that he lost a lot of friends during the Trojan war. He was deeply sudden with all these discoveries and realizes that it is better to stay home with his family and with his people by living honorably in Sparta. That is why the city of Sparta is well take care of because of his stay and ruling. Menelaus is satisfied with his city. Then, Menelaus talked about Odysseus and how he misses him so much and Telemachus cries. The room was quiet then Helen, Menelaus’s wife walks
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.
Solon states in The Ages of Man a boy grows from “ A child in his infancy grows his first set of teeth and loses them within seven years” to a man at the age of approximately twenty one ”to show he is growing from youth to a man”. If one were to look at Telemachos and what stage he is in in comparison to Solon’s idea of men, it is a difficult pin to place. He was just a child ten years ago and is now growing into the “man” he is meant to become. Unfortunately he never had a father to show him the way. Telemachos, Odysseus’s son, was the “man” of the household after his father left for the Trojan War. When his father did not return to Ithaca, suitors flooded into his palace, grazing at all his food, and overstaying their welcome. Throughout The Odyssey, Telemachus matures very much so, but in the first four books, there is a definite transition from an immature scared little boy, to the man that revenges the abuse he received at the end of the story.
...machus, through this journey, has become a man. When the story began Telemachus was a little boy with no figure in his life to really guide him stuck in a bad situation. Over the course of the journey Telemachus had to make due in many situations where respected elders surrounded him. In normal father to son relationships it is your father who teaches you and forces you to become a man. Somehow in this story, although Odysseus was not directly in Telemachus’ life, Odysseus did teach Telemachus how to be a man. It was Odysseus’ absence and hope of his return that was the driving force for Telemachus, and which made him eventually grow into manhood.
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.
Early on in both of their stories, Odysseus and Telemachus learn to practice strong will in initiating their own journeys. Even though Telemachus reaches the cusp of his childhood, the individuals around him plague him into believing he remains a boy. In the Odyssey, gods are considered to control vast things such as fate or choose to intrude in the lives of mortals. One of these goddesses, Athena, desires to aid both Odysseus and Telemachus in their journeys. In disguise, she gives Telemachus inspiration to initiate the steps to adulthood by saying, “you’ll never be fainthearted or a fool, /Telemachus, if you have your father’s spirit; /he finished what he cared to say,” (Homer 27). With this he commences the hardship of finding his father by immediately calling an assembly and defying the men around him who thought him incapable. Meanwhile, Odysseus has already faced trials testing his determination. He evades the many temptations of immortals su...
...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.