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Character development introduction
An essay on character development
Character development introduction
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Telemachus is not merely any character in Homer’s the Odyssey. Throughout the epic, Telemachus steadily becomes aware of his influence on others and develops for use as one of his main weapons. Following in the footsteps of his father, Telemachus is able to assist in overpowering the suitors. Lastly, Telemachus is dominant enough to gain the faith and favor of the Grey Eyed Goddess. Telemachus is surely the character that develops the most in the epic, learning and adapting to new situations like an authentic Greek hero. First of all, Telemachus demonstrates his adulthood power and dominance through his conflict against the suitors. The suitors, who chose to rampage in Odysseus’s palace for around four years, have given enough trouble to …show more content…
Even as an inexperienced juvenile, Telemachus even attracts the attention of the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. King Nestor is shocked when he realizes this and points it out to Telemachus, saying “If you have gods as escorts when you are so young,/ I do not think you will turn out badly at all!” (3. 413-14). Greek culture believes that the Greek gods have the ability to do and predict everything, and so when Telemachus is sponsored by the daughter of the most powerful Greek god, it is clear that he is ready for great things. In addition, Athena also believes in Telemachus’ father. If Athena has great faith in both Odysseus and the amateur Telemachus, then therefore Telemachus has the possibility of being as great of a hero as his father. Another example of the investment put into Telemachus is shown in his father’s immediate trust in him. Immediately after Odysseus meets Telemachus as an adult, he gives him difficult tasks, believing that Telemachus will do the right thing. An example of this is when Odysseus accepts Telemachus’ offer, as written “Bring me what you can while I still have arrows/ Or these men might drive me away from the door” (22. 112-113). Without Telemachus’ aid, Odysseus would have lost his battle against the suitors due to a lack of weapons and armor. Odysseus trusts Telemachus with his life, surprising for one who does not trust his crew members for 3 years. …show more content…
Odysseus was already a learned and experienced hero at the beginning of the epic, while Telemachus was still a novice. This can be shown through the many epithets used to describe each character. Odysseus is repeatedly called as one who is great, as well as “a master mariner” (5. 270). This epithet refers to Odysseus as someone who has taken much time to learn a skill, a skill he must have become adept at before the epic had begun. In addition, most of Odysseus’ epithets are consistent. For example, the phrase “godlike Odysseus” appears more than once every other book. On the other hand, Telemachus was described as an inferior being before being praised by epithets. Originally, Telemachus pictures himself as vastly lesser to Odysseus, as shown when he imagines that he is getting respect once his father scatters the suitors (1. 123-126). This gives the idea that Telemachus is unable to do anything or fight back against the suitors. Yet, this changes later on in the epic after Telemachus attempts to give himself a name. Telemachus is described with the epithet “cool-headed under fire” only late in the epic (22. 158). This happens after Telemachus meets Athena and travels throughout Greece, therefore representing his sudden growth in the epic. While Odysseus as a character does grow and learn, most of Telemachus’ experiences were brand new and
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 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.
Telemachus is now taking baby steps by calling men of Ithaca, and announcing his feeling towards the suitors, “…if you were devouring all my treasure, all my cattle, if you were the ones we’d make adems in no time.”(Homer II, 80-81). Telemachus shows bravery and courage to by telling the suitors and the men of Ithaca, that the suitors are worthless men, and they are very rude to abuse the power of hospitality. Soon after though, the suitor are outrage and blame Penelope for their behavior, claiming that she lead them on. After arguing for what seemed like years, Telemachus still holds his ground and shows no sign of weakness. He tells the men that he is going on a journey to find his father “And now all I ask is a good swift ship and a crew of twenty men to speed me through my passage out and back.” (Homer II, 236-238). Telemachus recruits the men of Ithaca for help to find Odyssey, he shows that he is already taking control and wants to talk to Nestor and Menelaus to find information about his father’s whereabouts. If he hears any news that Odyssey is alive he shall wait and look for his father for one more year, but if he hears that Odyssey is dead, Telemachus should go back to Ithaca, and let Penelope marry a suitor. Telemachus displays that he is becoming a better leader by being courageous when he stands up to the
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.
Her description of him, so close to his father's, helps Athena make Telémakhos realize that he is indeed the son of the great Odysseus, and he can easily become a man like him, which seems to be the young man's dream. Even Mentês' reminiscence of dining with Odysseus in the old days being linked to eating with Telémakhos makes this assertion of his likeness to Odysseus more real for the young man. Before Athena talks to Telémakhos, as far as anyone can tell, Telémakhos is but a boy, meaning that he has not yet traveled the seas and has yet to stand up to the grown men wronging him.
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.
...e gods and goddesses who changed his fate (ex. Poseidon, Calypso, Circle). He learned very many valuable lessons over the course of the epic all thanks to these unfortunate events. Telemachus was also affected by the suitors, who were the biggest reason for his change into a man. They were the main conflict in the story for him and they also played a small role in affecting the changes of his father. Without the suitors, abuse of xenia could not have been displayed, Telemachus would not have had much reason to mature and there would not have been as much interest in the book for readers.
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.