Telemachus in The Odyssey

Telemachus was the son of Odysseus, mighty king of Ithaca and hero of Athena. Telemachus was a mere infant when Odysseus set sail for Troy where he helped to conquer the Trojans and retrieve Menelaus’ wife Helen. Despite emerging victorious from the Trojan war, Odysseus hadn't succeeded in returning home to Ithaca, and so twenty-one years after his departure for Troy, his family and kingdom believed him to be dead. Telemachus had lived his entire life without his father and as the Odyssey begins, although twenty-one years of age, Telemachus seems to be a child and not a powerful young man. Telemachus was first portrayed as a somber young lad who's heart was stricken with grief for the loss of his father. He was daydreaming and keeping to himself

(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

Next, Telemachus did as Mentor told him and sailed off to Pylos in search of his father. When Telemachus landed on the shore of Pylos, he found King Nestor and his son sacrificing bulls to the Gods. Telemachus is graciously received by Nestor, and is invited to be a guest at dinner. After dinner Telemachus and Nestor introduce themselves and Telemachus explains the reason for his visit. Nestor does not provide

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.

      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

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’ and Telemachus’ journeys or nostos were both very similar and different. They parallel each other in some ways but they are also completely different at other times. Telemachus starts as a younger, less mature boy, and without the presence of his father during his childhood, he becomes a timid, shy and spineless boy who is greatly pampered by his mother. He has even more to achieve, being the son of a world-famous father, and this is a very difficult reputation to live up to. His journey, and after that the killing of the suitors who took advantage of him really show how his journeys and problems throughout the book mature him from being a shy, timid boy into a mature man. Odysseus’ journey also taught him about many things

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.

Athena acts as a source of inspiration and the object of many pleas throughout this epic. While in Ithaca Athena took the guise of the old man Mentes. It was under this guise that Athena went to Telemachus and made him realize that it was his time to start his journey. Athena/Mentes gathered men for Telemachus to journey with and even accompanied him upon his journey. Athena/Mentes acted as a guide for Telemachus prodding him in every situation on how to step up and be a man.

Beginning in medias res, The Odyssey succeeds the events of The Iliad. Prior to Telemachus’s introduction, Homer develops tension by telling of Odysseus’s tribulations—held captive by the “great nymph Kalypso”(14) and torment by Poseidon, who was ceaseless in his anger”(20) for blinding his son, the “Cyclops”(70) “Polyphemos (70)” of returning to his beloved “home and wife”(14) revealed by the goddess Athene in her parley with her father, Zeus. In turn, the succession of Telemachus’s narrative discerns the chaos which has befallen Ithaca. As Odysseys’s character and narrative is introduced only in Book 5, the suspense builds on the existing complex poltline, and holds the fleeting attention of the reader.

In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus has not seen his family in twenty years and could not return because of the continuous obstacles created from Poseidon’s wrath. Since Odysseus was absent throughout Telemachus’ childhood, Telemachus grows up to be weak and submissive without his father’s guidance. This allowed in the suitors takeover of his home and their aggressive quest in his mother’s hand in marriage. By embarking on the arduous journey of finding his father, Telemachus develops the confidence he needs to successfully gain control of his household and reach his goal of locating Odysseus. Additionally, the heroes in William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying and Lewis Carol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland must endure hardship and loss before they can develop the

This statement is very telling as it defines not only the appearance of the great Odysseus, but also the son he left behind. Furthermore, it begins to develop a timeline of actions by announcing that Odysseus left home when Telemachus was only a baby. Nestor recognizes that Odysseus ' appearance, vivacity, and personality are apparent in his progeny, Telemachus. This is encouraging to Telemachus as he hears that he resembles the great king Odysseus. As Telemachus presses for news of what has become of his father, Telemachus learns that his father may yet be alive and held captive by a goddess-nymph named Calypso. He then glorifies the strong will of Orestes and encourages Telemachus to do the same: "And you, my friend - / how tall and handsome I see you now - be brave, you too, / so men to come will sing your praises down the years." (3, 226 - 227).

At the very beginning of his journey, in his first conversation with Athena in Book I, Telemachus reveals his inexperience as he describes the threat posed by the suitors. His inexperience is highlighted by Athena’s response that, “You really do need Odysseus back. / Just let him lay his hands on these mangy dogs!” (Book I, lines 271—272). In the story she subsequently relates about Odysseus receiving arrow poisons from Zeus and she paints a portrait of Odysseus that contrasts with that of Telemachus. Odysseus is the quintessential “man.” For example, Odysseus “knows every trick there is,” (Book I, line 221). He is strong, tolerates no challenge, solves problems, and is war-like. Telemachus, on the

His loyalty, courage, faith, and tenacity are all demonstrated as he peregrinates from one place to another in search of his long lost father. He will do whatever it takes to see the safe return of his father, which also exposes a glaring weakness of Telemachus, naivety. Unfortunately for many, faith is a double-edged sword because possessing too much faith can be very detrimental as it slowly corrupts the mind into believing what will never happen, thus evolving from faith to naivety. This transformation is demonstrated through the extended period of time it took for Telemachus to prepare to give his mother to a suitor. In addition, Telemachus possesses both integrity and a strong awareness of idealism. These qualities are both demonstrated when Telemachus finally grows tired of allowing the suitors to take advantage of him and demands retribution, but unfortunately these qualities also present another weakness, dependence. This is exhibited by the fact that Telemachus does not take action against the suitors until Athena instructs him to do so. This dependence allows the suitors to mercilessly take advantage of Telemachus for such a prolonged amount of time, without any punishment or

In the beginning of book II, Telemachus holds an assembly which is of importance as it is the first one since Odysseus departed for Troy. This shows his developing maturity as he is beginning to fulfill the role of his father. Telemachus in hopes of calling this assembly aspires to confronts the suitors publicly with their crimes. He could not be idle and observe as the suitors disrespect his mother and his household in the absence of his father. During the assemble, he is forthright to point out the suitors and describe them as being the finest men gathered there. Telemachus filled with rage decides that he would fight them all if only he had the strength. He burst into tears which shows how frustrated he is, in addition, he is still a boy despite being forced to assume the role of the father.