Homer's Odyssey introduces us to a wide variety of characters. Two of the younger characters are Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, and Nausikaa, the daughter of King Alkinoos. Both Telemachus and Nausikaa are approximately the same age, although the book is not specific about Nausikaa's age. More importantly, we know that they are both teenagers. Almost all adolescents must make a transition from childhood to young adult and in doing so they share two central traits, the wish for independence and rebelliousness, and Nausikaa and Telemachus are no exceptions.
Adolescence is defined as the transitional period between childhood and adulthood. Despite Telemachus' age, he doesn't really begin this transitional period until Athena comes to him. In the beginning of the book, although Telemachus is eighteen, he is still a child. Telemachus' childhood was, for the most part, without a father. Because of this, he feels it is his duty to protect his mother. Unfortunately, Telemachus lacks the resolve to expel the suitors and he doesn't completely think his actions through.
However, when Athena comes to him in the form of Mentes, everything suddenly changes. Athena acts as a catalyst to propel Telemachus into the next stage of his life. This is where his adolescence truly begins. Telemachus now wants to be independent. It is possible that he wants to harvest his father's kleos and live up to the "Odysseus tradition" and the Odysseus name. Telemachus rebels against his mother, whom he thought he was supposed to protect, and mounts an expedition to go search for his father without telling her anythin...
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...sp; Your thesis statement needs to be more detailed. You state the need for independence and rebellion, which you discuss in your paper. However, you do not state their transition stage from child to adolescent, which you also discuss in your paper. Almost all adolescents must make a transition from childhood to young adult and in doing so they share two central traits, the wish for independence and rebelliousness, and Nausikaa and Telemachus are no exceptions.
2. You have a good argument. You do, however, use a lot of plot summary. Try not to re-tell the story and concentrate on diving deeper into your analysis. Give a more detailed comparison of the two teenagers. Are there any other forms of rebellion or independence in the teenagers? How do the other characters react to these transitions?
Through Telemachus, Odyssues’ son, the reader sees Odysseus’ utter dependence upon the gods’ aid. During Telemachus’ journey, all those th...
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.
Although Telémakhos first appears "a boy, daydreaming" (I, 145)truly a far shot from what he wants to be, a warrior and hero like Odysseus, of whom he daydreamsAthena stirs him into action and thereby sparks his initiation into the world as a man. In the shape of Mentês, Athena advises Telémakhos to stop sitting around and daydreaming, and to start looking for his father, or at least news of him. With her description of Telémakhos as Odysseus' boy by his looks, Athena makes Telémakhos realize that even though he may be young yet, he is no boy: "The way your head is shaped, the fine eyesyes, / how like him! We took meals like this together / many a time." (I, 252-254) 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.
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 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.
The first step in any hero’s journey is the Call to Adventure, or the seperation from the pack. For Odysseus this call happened while he was on Calypso’s Island. Up on Olympus Athena had convinced Zeus of her case and Hermes was dispatched to free Odysseus from Calypso’s grasp. Odysseus was settled here for quite some time and had no way of escape until Calypso was forced by the gods to let him go. This is where his journey begins. At first Odysseus is very skeptical of this freedom and thinks that it is a trick by Calypso, which is the denial stage that follows the call to adventure. This stage seperates Odysseus once agaian from what has become familiar to him. He is called to journey alone once again to gain what it is that he has wanted for so long. For Telemachus his call came due to the perils he was facing in his own home with suitors competing for his mother’s love. They started to eat him out of house and home and began to disrespect his mother. Before this Telemachus had stayed quiet, and had not taken action. Telemachus got summoned to branch out from his mother and his home to venture out on a journey of his own. It was now his time to become a man.
Telemachus demonstrates his new maturity when he explains his plan if he discovers his father is dead. “I can come back to my own dear country/ and raise a mound for him, and burn his gear,/ with all the funeral honors that benefit him,/ and give my mother a husband”(2.231-234). Telemachus changes because of the responsibility that he is taking on and the mature decision that he is prepared to make. Telemachus also exemplifies this step into manhood when he acknowledges that he must find a way to overcome his obstacle of the suitors. He takes on the quest to find his father, which is important to him. If he fails to fulfill his responsibility to his mother, he has to face the consequences of losing her to one of the suitors. Telemachus maturely discusses his request of the suitors’ departure with the main suitor. “After the death of King Odysseus./All I insist on is that I rule over our house/ and rule the slaves that my father won for me”(1.447-449). Telemachus is calmly asks if he can take responsibility for the house if his father is dead. His ability to discuss his problems instead of resorting to immediate violence indicates he is changing. His readiness and persistence after he is denied is
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...
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 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.
...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.
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.
She later sparks a flame inside of Telemachus to embark on his journey to find his father. At the first destination Telemachus arrives at, Athena appears once again in the court of King Nestor. She appears in the form of an eagle to represent that she is beside Telemachus in his righteous journey to find his father. When hearing of her son’s departure, Penelope becomes extremely distraught. In an attempt to reassure and comfort her, Athena appears as a “glimmering phantom” and says these comforting words, “Take heart, and don’t be so afraid. The guide who goes with him is one many men pray for to stand at their side, a powerful ally- Pallas Athena. And she pities you in your grief, for it is she who sent me to tell you this” (Homer 342). There are many motivators for Athena in The Odyssey. Some could argue she relates with Penelope, and provides protection for her household throughout the years. Others may say she is enamored with Odysseus because of their relating character traits. Athena basically takes on the motherly role of watching over both Telemachus and Odysseus. She monitors both of the men’s journeys, and allows them to go through tribulations in order to grow emotionally and spiritually. Brian Lower a literature professor from Union College wrote,” Athena allows Odysseus to experience the storm, but not die. She knows that it will make him stronger for it. There is an
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.