Through similarities occurring in situations in which Odysseus and Telemachus are brought to tears, Homer highlights the act of weeping as a crucial and natural process in human life. In order for one to recover from grief, and progress in life, reliving past memories of suffering is a vital stage. Ultimately, both father and son are able to heal from the pains of their pasts, and do not lament for their anguish again in the epic. Appropriately, the next, and last, time Telemachus weeps is with his father: “...Telemachus threw his arms around his great father, sobbing uncontrollably as the deep desire for tears welled up in both. They cried out...pulsing sharper than birds of prey...when farmers plunder their nest of young too young to fly.”
