Telemachus in The Odyssey Essay -- Papers Odyssey Essays Papers

Telemachus in The Odyssey The first four books of the Odyssey are sometimes known as 'Telemachy'. It is a self-contained section that could in fact be easily removed, allowing the story to begin with Odysseus without damaging the plot. They deal with Telemachus' struggle and coming of age through his travels and quest. Telemachus is sent on his travels because although he has grown to adulthood, when Athene first visits him in book one, he is somewhat pathetic, lonely and very much a young boy and is not strong enough to remove the suitors from his father's palace: "Sitting disconsolate among the Suitors, imagining how his noble father might come back out of the blue, drive the Suitors headlong from the house, and so regain his royal honours, and reign over his own once more" Telemachus had no one strong to support him and there were 108 suitors for his mother. Telemachus at this point would not impress the great Odysseus (his father). As Telemachus was only an infant when his father left for Troy, he was desperate for some news about him. Telemachus says that he knows that he is Odysseus' son only by what he has been told and he is also very negative about ever finding his father, and his conviction that he is dead is obvious: "My father's unhappy end" Also, his grandfather Laertes was not at the palace and so he has no male role model to lead him on the right path to becoming a man. His travels also give Telemachus a chance to develop his own identity and Kleos and become a man. He develops somewhat in books one to four. Kleos in Homeric context meant what people said of you and defined how you'd be r... ...s, which tie him to his childlike life with his overly emotional mother. He needs to learn about being a hero and polite etiquette in the company of gods or heroic men. He must prepare himself for the imminent arrival of his father, which is delayed by Homer whilst Telemachus becomes a son resembling his father in ways other than physically. He gains a role model in characters such as Menelaus and a positive attitude that comes from reassuring words from him and confidence from Athene. Telemachus discovers the last known whereabouts of his father, is given hope that he could still be alive and learns that his father was indeed a hero with many important friends. We feel sorry for Telemachus' difficult childhood, and yet think that he needs to become a stronger, more confident character, that his father can be proud of.