Transformation Of Telemachus In The Odyssey In Homer's Odyssey

Improved Essays
In The Odyssey, Homer shows the transition of Telemachus from a childish and passive young man to a Man worthy of being Odysseus’ son. Through the help of Athena, he learns different character traits and qualities such as bravery that helps him to mature into a man worth the title of a prince of Ithaca. Odysseus’ son the help of Athena. He learns how to be authoritative, assert maturity and acknowledge his wrongdoing. He is also influenced by the return of his father to be more like him. These events of maturation Telemachus goes through shows his transition from a young man to a man worthy to be Odysseus’s son.
Throughout The Odyssey, Telemachus proves himself worthy to be Odysseus son. Through the help of Athena, Telemachus slowly matures
…show more content…
In the first couple of books, he shows the development of maturity by requesting support from the assembly in his quest to seek news of his father. He askes for a ship and a crew of twenty men to accompany him on his passage to Sparta and Pylos. The old Telemachus would not have done things which proves that he is slowly maturing to make decisions. Again, Athena plays a huge role in the maturity of Telemachus, especially on the trip to Sparta and Pylos. The journey to Pylos and Sparta also symbolises Telemachus’ maturity to take up the father’s role, a position that has been unoccupied for a while. The trip plays an important role as Telemachus gains a lot of boldness and courage through his meeting with Nester, the kings of Pylos as they discuss the whereabouts of his father. The readers also notice a quality in Telemachus which is his ability for polite conversation. This was seen during his visit with king Menelaus. The king was so impressed, he pleads for Telemachus to extend his visit. This ability shows how he can brilliantly complement and manipulate others in other to get his way. This is also like Odysseus cunning. Through these experiences, he is discovering himself while also learning to be bold and vocal. He is displaying signs of becoming an even greater person than his …show more content…
With his father present, he strives to mimic his traits and is further exposed to Odysseus characters which influences him. Odysseus shows the traits of being cunning when he is disguised a beggar in the palace. As Telemachus is being exposed to the brilliant cunning by his father, his knowledge is also increasing as he is learning about different strategies of war. The trait of cunning was seen at the beginning of the book when makes the decision not to inform his mother of his decision to travel in search of his father. He shows great cunning, as he informs his nurse not to bring it to his mother’s attention until she askes for his whereabouts. This is like the character of his father as we later see Odysseus use that trait to sneak into the palace. This shows how similar they are and how Telemachus is his father s son as he exemplifies some characteristics as his

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    but they will also make him realise what true courage means. Learning why and how Odysseus became famous is important for Telemachus to become his father’s son. By ignoring the opinions of the suitors and by doing what is right Telemachus learn the true meaning of…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Before Telemachus speaks with Athena he never addresses his mother with a disapproving tone. This is proven by her “stunned” reaction when her son commands her to proceed to her room (I ln.380). Athena further demonstrates her power when she grants Telemachus the audacity to confront the suitors. Telemachus confronts the suitors after talking to Athena; he calls the suitors “arrogant pigs,” and he commands them to leave (I ln.387-401). Previous to his conversation with Athena, Telemachus would never stand against the suitors because they could overpower him.…

    • 1596 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Odysseus Character Traits

    • 1047 Words
    • 4 Pages

    After Odysseus left Ithaca for the Trojan War, the suitors take over his estate. Odysseus’ absence compels the young Telemachus to take Odysseus’ place and maintain his estate. Telemachus hears about his father’s deeds throughout his life, which inspires him to be a brave warrior and carry out his duties towards his mother and estate. Telemachus is influenced by his father’s virtues of prudence and humility. When Odysseus lays out his plan to first test his servants for loyalty, Telemachus uses his prudence, to propose to kill the suitors first.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    However, he really came across as incapable and doesn’t receive the support he was hoping for. The men did not want to hear any more of what Telemakhos had to say: “Vexing though it may be; we fear no one, / certainly not Telemakhos, with his talk” (II. 209-210). After this Telemakhos is finished with pleading his case; he realizes the men and suitors are only going to do what they think is best since Odysseus is gone. With his speech failing, Telemakhos is more determined than ever to find news of his father.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The roots of Odysseus’s betrayal lie within his family, more specifically with his son, Telemachus. His absence through his son's adolescence causes Telemachus to grow up without a father, leaving Odysseus as an undependable figure from an early age. In contrast to his relationship with his own father, Odysseus is unable to mold his son into the heroic being that he himself is characterized as– a common theme for the father and son relationship in epics. Therefore it is not Odysseus, but Athena, that eventually marks Telemachus’s transition into manhood. She remarks to him, “[He] must not cling to [his] boyhood any longer– it’s time he were a man”, referring to Telemachus’s quest to finally find his missing father (Homer, 1.341-342).…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Athena challenges Telemachus to leave boyhood and enter manhood. Athena calls Telemachus to subdue his grief for one year. During that year, Telemachus is to call an assembly with the purpose of gathering and scattering the suitors inhabiting the palace, commandeer a ship with twenty oars with the purpose of searching for whispers and rumors regarding the status of Odysseus. Telemachus must first visit Pylos and interrogate King Nextor. Then, Telemachus must sail to Sparta in search of the red haired Menelaus.…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Telemachus was an infant when his father left for Troy, as evidenced by the tale of Odysseus’ call to Troy. Desperate to stay with his family, Odysseus attempts to fake insanity by plowing a beach, but is discovered when his infant son is placed in front of the plow and…

    • 1303 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both Odysseus and Telemachus play extremely pivotal and important roles in Homer’s The Odyssey. The phrase “like father like son” can easily describe the similarities between Odysseus and Telemachus’s characters. However, no human beings are exactly alike as both characters also share a great number of differences. So although Odysseus and Telemachus are both similar in the way that they’re great heroic warriors, they differ in craftiness and arrogance which reflect Ancient Greek values.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Athena convinces Telemachus to journey and find out whether his father is alive. He meets King Nestor in Pylos and King Menelaus in Sparta, who both have news about Odysseus. Telemachus's journey—both a physical and metaphorical journey—is essential for him to become the true son of Odysseus because he learns how similar he is to Odysseus, gains confidence, and understands the importance of praying to the gods. First of all, Telemachus's…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    While Telemachus is gone, he hears of many great stories about his father and that he is still alive and will return home; he then realizes that he is his father’s son. He wants to be a great leader, protector, clever, courageous, and admirable “man” just like him. With this new-found sense of identity and confidence, he makes his way back home and takes control of his house-until Odysseus returns. Telemachus is officially transformed into a man. Meanwhile, Odysseus has undergone a similar change.…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Telemachus, son of Odysseus, does not appear in The Odyssey for a large expanse of time. However, he makes a huge impact by showing how he grows up. His father has been away at war and lost at sea for twenty years. Odysseus’s exciting journey spans the majority of the book. He spends time in many strange islands with monsters, Cyclopes, and Godlike beings.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both Odysseus and his son are involved in an island-hopping campaign. For Telemachus, he is searching for his father. First, he travels…

    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    By commanding his mother, Telemachus is demonstrating his growth into a man. By telling his mother what to do, he is showing he has the authority to tell her what to do, and by doing so infant of the suitors helps to build their view of him. With his first commanding his mother, Telemachus is demonstrating his first taking of the powers typically granted to men. This growth is further seen when he declares that he holds the “reins of power” in his fathers house while he is gone.…

    • 1501 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When he meets his father for the very first time, Telemachus finally has the new role model that he has been missing for his life. The whole motive of his journey, which helped him mature, is to find Odysseus. Meeting him after twenty years of not having a father made him realizes his full potential and bravery. He felt the need to fill his father’s footsteps, and make him proud, and: “...Telemachus-too quick- stabbed the man from behind, / plunging his bronze spear between the suitor’s shoulders / and straight on through his chest the point came jutting out” (22. 97-99). By having the courage to kill the suitors at the end of the story, it shows how Telemachus develops through his experiences.…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Tragic Hero: Odysseus As An Epic Hero

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 11 Works Cited

    In The Odyssey, Odysseus has been separated from his family due to the Trojan War, and wishes to return. His son, now a grown man, is ruling his land and trying to stop suitors from marrying his mother and gaining power of the kingdom. “First by far to see her was Prince Telemachus, sitting among the suitors, heart obsessed with grief..” (Homer., Fagles, and Knox 81). Throughout the story, Odysseus encounters many situations. The last, and most famous, situation he was in was when he went in disguise into his own home, where his mother was going to marry whoever could shoot Odysseus’ old bow and arrow through 12 axes.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 11 Works Cited
    Superior Essays