Telemachus Coming Of Age In Homer's Odyssey

The Odyssey written by Homer highlights the character development of Odysseus, the epic hero, in his journey of self-discovery. Odysseus is accredited with many strong traits including his nobility, smarts, and bravery. Having one tragic flaw, being his arrogance, was put to the test throughout his heroic journey. Homer stripped the protagonist of his arrogance as the story goes on, by giving him many challenges, giving dire consequences for his mistakes, and allowing him to continue to overcome obstacles. The main purpose of Odysseus’ journey was to reach his home as a humbled man. The hero’s journey can be used as a way to look at life’s morals. The reader is able to see the protagonist continue to make mistakes, because of his arrogance and continue to be punished by the gods. Once he overcame this, he is greatly awarded with the security of his home. This essay will analyze the arrogance of Odysseus along with his extraordinary traits, the molding of his identity, and his new found lesson of humility.

Heroes, as shown in literature, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger in order to bring back, for themselves and their societies, both knowledge and treasure. Their stories follow “Hero Journey.” The Odyssey, as the epic story of the hero Odysseus, follows closely the complete cycle of a Hero Journey, both as a physical and as a psychological undertaking. The Hero Journey, used as a framework for both Odysseus’ physical and mental journeys, serves to bind the two together. Each of Odysseus’s physical difficulties can be viewed as a metaphor for a psychological hardship that he must overcome, and by overcoming these hardships, Odysseus matures—achieving a more complete understanding of himself and

      During the book it seems that even a goddess, such as Athene, does not know what to do with somebody as incompetent, and inexperienced as Telemachus.  Athene toys with some ideas and then finally decides to get Telemachus to go to Sparta.  Perhaps it is this journey that finally gives Telemachus a chance to mature and see the world.  Through this journey, Telemachus' first, he sees many new sights and encounters new situations. He is humbled when he sees the palace of Menelaos and his most beautiful

(2) Another outcome of Athena’s encouragement is Telemachus’ development of eloquence. At first, he is tentative and inexperienced at using his loquaciousness on the suitors and Ithacans, but he soon becomes an expert orator when speaking to Menelaus. After Athena’s inspiration, Telemachus finally confronts the courters and complains about their insolence. He delivers a scolding speech, which prompts them to be “amazed that [he] can speak with so much daring” (1. 439). His loquaciousness surprises the suitors, as they have never heard him audaciously advocate for his beliefs. However, his complaints do not leave a lasting effect on the courters, as they immediately begin to “dance and s[ing]” (1. 480). Telemachus then becomes tentative, and eventually succumbs and does not reprimand them again. Thus, his hesitation and amateurism prohibits him from completely inducing them to leave. Moreover, he is unsuccessful in rousing the Ithacans to retaliate against the suitors. Telemachus attempts to make an inspiring speech to persuade the Ithacans to fight against the courters, but instead, he provokes “pity [to] seize [the Ithacans]” (2. 88). The response is the opposite of what the young prince desired, and this failure proves Telemachus is still a neophyte at utilizing his eloquence. At Menelaus’ house, Telemachus matures and becomes an effective and influential speaker. Menelaus offers three magnificent stallions to Telemachus, but he

Homer’s The Odyssey tells the story of young Telemachus with the task of finding his father, Odysseus while also finding himself. As the hero of this journey, Telemachus develops into a noble, brave, and strong man, through complications inflicted by others’ mental endurance. By overcoming these obstacles Telemachus develops into the universally known stereotypical hero. However, the same cannot be said for the heroes of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland. At the end of their journeys, Jewel and Alice become different kinds of heroes; instead of becoming a stereotypical plucky adventurer, they each develop different traits to benefit themselves along their journey.

Kamren Prince World Literature 1 Dr. Newman March 28, 2024 Essay 1 The Odyssey is the story that continues the epic of the Iliad, where the hero Odysseus sets on the journey back to his homeland of Ithaca. Throughout the trip, Odysseus and his crew will be tested and tested. The men that left Troy were not the same men that made it back to Ithaca. This paper aims to analyze the many obstacles that met Odysseus on his journey that sparked the need for his personal development, which made him face his flaws and learn to mature to complete his journey and become a better leader and individual.

For example, in book 1, lines 430–436, it states, “You must leave my palace! See to your feasting elsewhere; devour your own possessions, house by house. But if you decide the fare is better, richer here, destroying one’s man’s goods and going scot-free, all right, then carve away! But I'll cry to the everlasting gods in hopes that Zeus will pay you back with a vengeance.” This shows that Telemachus is standing up for what is right and defending his family's reputation, even if it means risking his safety by confronting the dangerous group of suitors.

In The Odyssey, the reader is easily able to distinguish that Odysseus is a hero in the story. He is a god-like figure. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, is a hero and seen by many readers as such especially females. Both possess characteristics of heroes and they deserve to be considered such but that does not mean that they are the true hero of the story. Their son Telemachus is the true hero in The Odyssey. The reader should be able to identify with him the most and realize everything that has happened in his life and he deals with it with extreme heroism. He handles the situation in his life the way every human being should.

Your topic of gaining courage is a fitting description for Telemachus, as he develops more confidence in his role in adulthood. Initially, Athena’s words set forth words of familial responsibility in lines 300-304 with, “Telemachus, you’ll lack neither courage nor sense from this day on, not if your father’s spirit courses through your veins-now there was a man, I’d say, in words and action both!” (Homer, trans. 1996). Athena’s advice and encouragement to him remind him that because of his birthright Telemachus is destined to take the reigns of courage and not to live in fear amongst his mother’s suitors, but to claim his authority in his home. You also brought up important points regarding how the suitors insulted and taunted him, which led to his decision to venture off and look for his father.

The last part of Telemachus’s initiation is when he steps foot on the ship and sets sail. This is a huge leap into manhood because he is taking initiative into finding his dad. Once he has gotten off the ship, he is in charge of the ship, it is similar to being in charge of a small kingdom on the sea. There were only twenty men on the crew, but that is twenty people’s lives that are in his hands. Lastly the most important part of the initiation is setting sail from his homeland. From that point forward there would be no turning back. He was then officially

In the beginning of The Odyssey, Telemachus is not yet a man and not sure of himself yet. Embarking on a mission to find his father, he matures from a child to a strong, single-minded adult. Throughout the poem, Telemachus finds his place in the world and becomes a more well-rounded person. Although Telemachus never quite matches his father Odysseus in terms of wit, strength, agility, his resilience does develop throughout the text. In the epic, The Odyssey, by Homer, the young boy Telemachus changes from an insecure teen into a confident and poised young man as he travels the seas in search for his father, whose bravery and intelligence proves to be comparable to his own.

Odysseus, King of Ithaca, and the main character in homer’s The Odyssey, was gone for twenty years before finally returning to his family and his homeland. He struggled through many hardships and lost many loyal companions. The King of Ithaca would not have made it home without the assistance of the Greek gods. Despite all of the help and advice that Odysseus receives from the gods, he is a very brave man because his courage and daring in the cave of the Cyclops, his inability to give up and abandon his men on Circe’s island, and his flawless following of the gods instructions are acts of bravery that is uncommon in most men.

Through his journey to Pylos and Sparta, Telemachus, who was born into a very privileged and high ranking family, learns how to use his inherited social status and connections for his own interests, which will help him mature into manhood. Telemachus was never old enough to remember what it was like when his father was around. Since Odysseus left, he has lived with his mom and nurse. However, for three years, he has been overwhelmed by suitors, who have taken over his house. Odysseus was never able to show Telemachus how to stand up for himself. Telemachus has been less than passive when going about doing things to get what he wants. When Athena comes and tells him that his father is going to come home, he realizes he has been ignoring what he knows is wrong, such as the suitors throwing parties every night, and that he needs to stop them. He doesn’t have any idea of how he is going to find his father when Athena comes, but he along his way finds that he has many resources and connections at hand that will allow him to find out what happened to his dad. Athena, disguised as Mentor, an old friend of Odysseus, encourages Telemachus to talk to Nestor. "Telemachus, no more shyness, this is not the time!/ We sailed the seas for this, for news of your father —// So go right up to Nestor...// Press him yourself to tell the whole truth:/ he'll never lie — the man is far too wise"(3.16-22) Here, Athena is encouraging Telemachus to be assertive, to get what the needs to know to find his father. Telemachus responds, "How can I greet him, Mentor, even approach the king?/ I'm hardly adept at subtle conversation./ Someone my age might feel shy, what's more,/ interrogating an older man."/ (3.23-27) He is intimidated. The irony is that he himself is of the higher class, and if Odysseus had been home, he would be accustomed to these interactions. This is Odysseus learning that he has high social status and can enjoy the privileges he was born with, such as being able to talk to the king. While there, Telemachus learns of the fate of the family of Agamemnon. Agamemnon came home to find his wife in love with Aegisthus, and together they kill him. Orestes, one of Agamemnon’s sons, avenges his father’s murder and kills

These two actions show the beginning of Telemachus' maturity. When Athena came in disguise to help Telemachus, the name Mentor was appropriately fitting. Before Mentor approached Telemachus, no one was trying to control the suitors or make them leave. But, the advise Mentor gave Telemachus encouraged him to take action against the shameless suitors. He proves to be the man of the house by standing up to his mother so he could address the crowd. He is learning how to take control of a situation, which he does not stand for, and how to stand up for himself and his family.

Before Telemachus begins his journey, the goddess Athena watches over him from Olympus and decides to help him. However, she does not make herself know to Telemachus, instead she disguise herself as familiar faces to him. And it’s these disguises that bring out Telemachus’ character. Her first disguise is as an old friend named Mentor. “Then bright-eyed Athena, assuming Mentor’s form and voice once more called Telemachus out of the palace to her side. ‘Telemachus,’ she said, ‘your well-grieved companions are sitting at their oars, waiting for your word to start’”(Homer 25). This scene explains how Telemachus views Mentor. He not only sees him as a man to be trusted, but also heed the words of. Telemachus doesn’t dissuade him or any of the like; he listens to his words and follows his instructions. Thus painting the idea that Telemachus knows this man well enough, that he is willing to follow his will in the middle of the night. However, there is something else that goes on. And that is the silent relationship of Telemachus and Athena. Touched on by Michael Murrin is his article Athena and Telemachus he goes into detail of the complex relationship between the two and explains, “In her disguise as Mentor, Athena does just what she promised to do in the divine assembly that begins The Odyssey. She stirs up Telemachus and gets him to act on his own. She does so with concrete