Telemachus Maturity Of Odysseus In Homer's Odyssey

At the beginning of The Odyssey, Odysseus’ son Telemachus is immature and helpless;

however, through the lessons he learns on his journey, he matures into a stronger young man.

Telemachus is shown as immature, when Athena has to force Telemachus to go see King

Nestor, and Telemachus replies with, “How can I greet him, Mentor, even approach the king?”

(3.25). This shows his immaturity with speaking to his elders. As the book progresses,

Telemachus is seen growing and maturing as a man. When Telemachus first speaks to Nestor,

even though he is nervous, he speaks eloquently When addressing the king. And he says,

“Nestor, son of Neleus, Achaea’s pride and glory­ where are we from, you ask? I will tell you all”

(3.88­3.89). This shows he is beginning to mature into a young man. Towards the end of book

4, finally, Telemachus shows the stronger young man he has become, when he says, “Don’t
soften a thing, from pity, respect for me­ tell me clearly, all your eyes have witnessed”
(4.365­4.366).

This shows that Telemachus has matured enough to hear about his father’s fate.

At the beginning of Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Telemachus was weak and helpless.

Now he is finally seen as the strong young man he has matured

into