More handpicked essays just for you.
Analysis of odysseus character essay
Analysis of odysseus character essay
Analysis of odysseus character essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Nestor replied with “I’ve come in search of word about my father- the famous, the unfaltering, Odysseus.”(pg44) and had a feast. In the beginning Telemachus didn’t know how to talk to the kings that were there. Telemachus had learned how to talk to kings and was told to speak to Menelaus in Sparta. When Telemachus went to Sparta to find king Menelaus, Menelaus had told Telemachus all that he knew about the whereabouts of Odysseus. Menelaus had said “Against his will, he’s kept a captive in the grottoes of Calypso- her island home, where he can only sorrow”
In The Odyssey, Homer characterizes Telemachus as a young boy that lacks the qualities of maturity and confidence required in the place of his absent father, later transforming him to a man who is assertive and aware of his obligations as the prince of Ithaca. Because of Telemachus’ growth as a character throughout the text, Homer influences the audience to believe that when one is left in the midst of trials, harboring the absence of an influential figure, one must emulate the characteristics left in their memory and adapt them to the journey they have yet to take. According to Part 1, Telemachus “has been searching the Mediterranean world for his father, who has never returned from the ten-year Trojan War” and did not get the luxury of a
In part one of Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus uses his epic hero qualities to help him out on his quest to get back home to Ithaca. He’s shows superb intelligence when fighting the cyclopes in “Book 9.” That’s a quality of superhuman intelligence that Odysseus possessed all throughout his entire journey. Another epic hero quality that helped Odysseus was help from Greek gods and goddesses. In part two of Homer’s Odyssey, Athena helped out Odysseus when he got back to his home land.
In Book 3 of The Odyssey, Homer characterizes Telemachus as confident and authoritative, as demonstrated through his speech and physique, despite his initial self-uncertainty. In the process, Telemachus’ character transforms dramatically. At first, Telemachus was unconfident in his abilities to converse. He explicitly revealed this uncertainty to Athena as he states, “How can I greet him, Mentor, even approach the king? I’m hardly adept at subtle conversation” (Homer 108).
The Relationship between Telemachus and Odysseus his father is very different. First off, Telemachus has really never met his father but there is still some relation there. Telemachus longs to meet his father and have a relationship. It is very clear that Telemachus struggles to come to the fact that his father has been away for so long and questions at the beginning of the books if he will every come home. Once Telemachus is told by Athena in disguise that his father is still alive ( lines 220-228 in Fagles) he longs on a journey to try and find his dad to see if he is alive.
In the culture, it is expected for the son to listen and learn from his father as well as represent the same interests. (Curley Reading Paternity 2:10). However, in the Odyssey, Odysseus does not have the opportunity to reunite or talk to Telemachus until book 16. The story starts with Telemachus in the house with his mother and Athena visits him while all the suitors are staying at his house. Telemachus struggles with the suitors in his house and doesn’t have the ability to get rid of them.
In the novel, The Odyssey translated by Robert Fitzgerald, Telemachus gives a speech to Ithaca. He argues to the suitors about disrespecting his father Odysseus’ home even though they think Odysseus is dead and will never come home. Courageously, from the heart, Telemachus goes up against the suitors to state control over the key social practices of marriage hospitality. Telemachus’ speech was effective because it showed pathos, logos, and ethos. Telemachus looks and acts the part of his father, astonishing those who presumably knew him as a boy.
Telemachus Growing into a Strong Mature Man Samuel Ullman, an American businessman and poet, once said, “Maturity is the ability to think, speak, and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity.” Samuel’s words hold true in Homer 's The Odyssey. In this extraordinary poem, Telemachus, the Son of Penelope, queen of Ithaca, and Odysseus, king of Ithaca. While Odysseus is at war fighting, Telemachus losing fait about his father coming home. He soon starts to question that he could be dead or alive.
As a result, Telemachus embarks on the search for his father and brings him home, ultimately preventing his mother from marrying one of her
Their father-son relationship is the most important of all throughout the Odysseus and this is proven time and again throughout the entire body of work. Their relationship is not only important to the story itself but to the themes as well. Family is the fundamental principle that not only they have but that the entire family has. Penelope is especially worried for her son as he is not at home and the suitors have planned to kill him on the sea before he can reach home. Xenia has also been passed down to Telemachus even though Odysseus wasn’t there.
All through The Odyssey, the characters develop in a certain way that interchanges the outcome of the book. Odysseus is able to develop knowledge and wisdom to deal with his men during the battle and the suitors who were frustrating his wife. In addition, he came back home as a hero after the Trojan War. Telemachus developed into a mature man who could deal with any problem in his father’s absence. However, based on the story, it is evident that, Telemachus demonstrates a great change basing upon the times the characters were away from Ithaca.
The most important relationship is the one between Odysseus and Telémachus because there relationship drives a lot of the plot of the epic poem. Homer draws attention to the significance of their relationship when he writes that “Then, throwing his arms around this marvel of a father Telémachus began to weep. Salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men, and cries burst from both as keen and fluttering as those of the great taloned hawk, whose nestlings fathers take before they fly. So helplessly they cried, pouring out tears, and might have gone on weeping so till sundown” (Homer 296). This quote shows reunion of Odysseus and Telémachus.
Journey to Maturity The Odyssey by Homer recognizes the importance of maturity throughout the epic poem, applied from Telemachus, as he grows from a weak, scared boy to a strong, responsible man who develops newly found skills, overcomes various obstacles, and reflects on his need to approach his problems as Homer showcases Telemachus as a prime example of maturation as he finds his father and fights alongside him to slay the suitors. Telemachus expresses maturation by achieving his goals, learning from his mistakes and experiences, taking risks, being strong, courageous, and confident, as well as enduring hardship to claim honor in the end. Telemachus trains to achieve his goal of finding his father. He matures with the help of many characters
Telemachus learns and appreciates the ways of his father, and so decides to follow the story of Orestes, and kill the suitors to take back his father’s home (3.52). Lastly, in book 4, Telemachus visits Menelaus in Sparta. In this part of the journey, we learn more details of the Trojan War, and also that Odysseus is still alive but captured by Calypso (4.71). Menelaus continues, talking of tales about Odysseus’ bravery and cunningness, educating Telemachus about the heroism is father had, which he believes he should also
The Odyssey and Ulysses were meant to be the same character written by two different individuals. Both individuals encountered obstacles at some point in their lives. Odysseus and Ulysses were both considered a hero in today’s society along with their similar characteristics. The heroic qualities and themes presented in both pieces of the literature work emphasized the similarity between the two characters along with their differences.
