In reading the first four books of "The Odyssey" we see a lot of different struggles going on but once we focus on Telemachus we begin to capture a more metal picture of this main character. Odysseus's son, Telemachus has lost his father, suitors are pursuing his mother, and he is learning how to grow up without the legendary guidance of his great father. Telemachus appears to be a young, lost boy who is trapped in a world that he has no control over. Feelings of being left behind and not getting the recognition he so rightfully deserves to take over the throne, Telemachus will set out on a journey to find the answers he needs.
In Book I, Athena, Zeus's daughter, seems to come to Telemachus' rescue, in a sense. She then sets off for Ithaka and here we start to see a slight change in how Telemachus views a glimpse of his possible future. When she first arrive we see a soft spoken, angry, young boy who wants to remove the suitors from his home and stop the pillaging of his family's' things but is lost on how he can do so. "It is easy for these men to like these things...they have any easy life...If he returned, it these men ever saw him faster legs they'd pray for....there's no help for us in someone's hoping he still may come..." (p. 6). Telemachus wants so much for there to finality in his father being gone and you get a sense he highly respected him and his courage, but he does not feel he is worthy or truly his son, "My mother says I am his son: I know not surely..." (p. 8). Here is where Athena sees his despair and grief and encourages him and gives him the strength to fight for what is his, "If I were you, I should take steps to make these men disperse...speak your will, and call the gods to witness...when you have done a...
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...p. 38-39). We also find that due to Athena's great love for Odysseus she may be more inclined to fight and help Telemachus, especially in the pursuit of his mother to marry another "if she cared for you that way, there would be those to quit this marriage game." (p. 41).
All of these findings enlighten us more to the character of Telemachus and his great father. We see that he is a young boy struggling to become a man without the needed guidance of his father. His mother is trying her best but must keep up an appearance to hold off the suitors as long as necessary. The way I view it at this point Telemachus has done all he can at this point and time and has finally gained strength and some additional courage to fight for his right at the throne. He holds his parents in high regards and will take whatever actions are necessary to keep them in high regards as well.
At the beginning of the book Telemakhos is troubled with the suitors trying to marry his mother. He tries to keep them in line but they are rampant, especially when they're drunk. They kill Odysseus's herd for their own feedings and disrespect the house of Odysseus. So Telemakhos is obliged to search for his father because he is his last and only hope of keeping the suitors away. He is determined to search for his father and must find him at all costs. When Odysseus is stuck on the island of Kalypso, Athena had obliged him to leave the island in search of his home, Ithaka. She tells him of the memories he had there and he remembered how much he had longed for Ithaka. So he was determined to get home. Just like how Telemakhos was determined to find his father. They were destined by the gods to come together. In book 16, it talks about Telemakhos and his father talking to each other planning how they were going to take over the suitors. They talked and talked and were happy to see each other.
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.
Telemachus’ and his father Odysseus’ experiences/journeys parallel each other in many different ways. One way that they are both similar is that they are both very well liked by Athena, who accompanies both on their journeys around Greece. Athena acts as guardian to both father and son. A quote which proves this is I, 85 “In the meantime I will go to Ithaca, to put heart into Odysseus' son Telemachus; I will embolden him to call the Achaeans in assembly, and speak out to the suitors of his mother Penelope, who persist in eating up any number of his sheep and oxen; I will also condu...
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.
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 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.
When Odysseus left Ithica, Telemakhos was only an infant. Now twenty years later, Telemakhos is faced with the hoggish suitors and shows little sign of hope for the future. In fact, when Athena approaches him as Mentor, he gives this grim description of his situation: "they eat their way through all that we have, and when they will, they can demolish me" (I.297-298). Telemakhos is rightfully anxious about the problems at hand. He doesn't remember his father, whom he refers to as "a man whose bones are rotting somewhere now" (I.199), and holds out little faith "in someone's hoping he still may come" (I.206-207). This shows Telemakhos' realization of the scope of his problems at hand. He is not naive to the suitors intentions, and seemingly too him, he is left alone to contend with them. It is here that Telemakhos displays emotional immaturity and a lack of confidence. Though he may realize the necessary strength of one who could overtake his enemies, he cannot identify these capacities within himself. Fortunately, Athena's encouragement comes just at the right time. She encourages that he "call the islanders to assembly, and speak your will, and call the gods to witness: the suitors must go scattering to t...
Telemachus has many experiences on his journey to manhood. In Ithaca while Odysseus is gone Penelope is being plagued with suitors asking for her hand in marriage. Telemachus sees what a nuisance they are to his mother, and how much they are taking from his father’s palace. He wants to put a stop to this and comes to the conclusion that he must find his father, or at least some information
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.
The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.
...a, 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. He is released from Ogygia and permitted to return to Ithaca only by the command of Zeus, as delivered by Hermes. Telemachus, rather than being trapped physically, was detained emotionally, feeling helpless to repel the suitors wooing Penelope. Only through the motivation of the goddess Athena did Telemachus find the will and courage to embark in search of Odysseus.
In the beginning of The Odyssey, Prince Telemachus was filled with grief and hoped to know what happened to his long-lost father, Odysseus. In my opinion, Prince Telemachus was just a boy before he met Athena. He was very doubtful and a bit of a coward, if you ask me. Penelope, his mother, has a lot of suitors. The suitors were taking advantage of their food and wine in their home. Yet Prince Telemachus does not kick them out or tell them how he really feels about the situation. Instead, he just daydreams.
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
The reader first finds the character of Telemachus sitting among the suitors in his father’s palace. This seemingly unimportant detail yields information regarding his temperament. The suitors, whom Homer portrays as malicious usurpers, continue to take advantage of Telemachus’ hospitality. Instead of defending his home, his mother, and his belongings from these men, Telemachus numbers among them. This lack of assertiveness displays his frailty and his helplessness given the overwhelming circumstances. At this point, Athena, disguised as Odysseus’ old friend Mentes, visits Telemachus in order to “inspire his heart with courage” (I.105). The two share a meal and engage in a lengthy conversation. The goddess discusses how Telemachus should handle the troublesome suitors and suggests a journey to try to ascertain the whereabouts of Odysseus. The conversation appears to immediately galvanize the young man’s resolve. In fact, immediately after her departure, he summons the courage to confront the suitors, demanding that they are to leave his house at once. The assertiveness that Telemachus displays in this instance is a dramatic departure from ...