The Odyssey : Book 4 Throughout the story, Telemachus changed drastically from who he once was. At the beginning of The Odyssey, the son of Odysseus was viewed as a scared and cowardly young man who was unsure of himself and lacked a fatherly figure in his life. It took the great goddess Athena to come along and install courage inside of him. Since he had to go on this journey, the young leader gathered traits that would help him in the long run. Telemachus gained faith and pride in his father Odysseus when he realized that even though this man didn’t die a war hero and no one knew what happened to him, he was still an incredibly intelligent man that was admired by everyone.
Odysseus justice for the maids who slept with the suitors is also brutal. Revenge Homer seems to think that revenge is well justified and people are entitled to it. i summarized it please give
The punishment given by Odysseus to the wooers that had overrun his kingdom during his absence was death. I believe there were many reasons he was justified for his actions. Odysseus knew he could not just return home and claim his kingdom after all these years and with all of the things that were happening. There were many wooers that were no good, arrogant and deceitful and only there to claim his wife and home without any regard for the kingdom. There were even plans made by one, Antinous, to kill Telemachus, their son due to his heir to the throne.
Odysseus lived in a time where there was no court of law to determine punishment and justice. For Odysseus to kill around 50 men just so they would not marry his wife, was immensely violent and brutal, but it was necessary. It was both morally and ethically correct to kill these suitors especially since there was no law enforcement back in this time period. This justice system was the norm for people of that age and no regrets or mercy is needed.
Being killed for love was a big thing back in mythology times. Now a person killing for love would be put in jail for murder. People in mythology times loved people and were very loyal because the gods would reward them if they were. In Homer's The Odyssey, Odysseus should have killed the suitors because of the way they were acting towards him, the love for his wife, and the loyalty that his wife had for him. First, he should have killed the suitors because of the men at they were acting toward Odysseus.
Ulysses finally after ten years of storm, shipwreck, and sorceries arrived in Ithaca, his home. Ulysses found his old good friend Eumaeus and he pretended to be an old begger so he could gather information on what was his status on the island after all the years he had been gone. Ulysses continued to pretend to be an old beggar, but when he saw his son, Telemachus he told him that he was his father, Ulysses. Ulysses, Telemachus, and Eumaeus headed to the castle where laid Penelope's suitors who wished for her hand in marriage. They came up with a plan to defeat all the suitors.
Throughout The Odyssey justice was particularly harsh; the gods punished the people on Earth whichever way they pleased. For instance, when Poseidon reprimanded the Phaeacians for sending Odysseus home he said, “They will learn at last to cease and desist from escorting every man alive – I’ll pile a huge mountain round about their port!”(13, 171-173). Although the Phaeacians were being kind and generous to Odysseus by directing him home to Ithaca, the Phaeacians went against the god’s outlook, specifically Poseidon’s, on how Odysseus should be treated. That resulted in them being punished in a cruel way, even though they were only striving to help Odysseus. Poseidon had a strong resentment towards Odysseus for blinding his son, Polyphemus, and it was likely that this was why the Phaeacians’ punishment was uncalled
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.
At the end of part 2 of the Odyssey, when Odysseus is finally home and confronts the suitors in his home, he decides to slaughter them all for invading his home and courting his wife: “Not for the whole treasures of your fathers, all you enjoy, lands, flocks, or any gold put up by others will I hold my hand. There will be killing till the price is paid” (22.62-64). This quote from Odysseus shows that he was furious at the suitors, and he would allow no other atonement for their crimes except death. While the suitors all did wrong things, their actions did not deserve the death penalty. This shows that Odysseus was not thinking straight and being fair, and this is not something a hero would do.
I think that Odysseus was justified for his actions by killing the suitors, because he went through so much to get home all to find the suitors taking over his home and they were bothering penelope. However, I don’t think his actions were justified when he killed the maids because they weren’t as bad as the suitors so they did not deserve it. He could have punished them, but he didn’t need to kill them just for being with the suitors. I definitely feel like the suitors deserved it because it was so hard and took so long for Odysseus to come home, and he came home to everything destroyed. Also, maybe not all the suitors deserved it because some didn’t do as much as others.
While Odysseus’ actions taken to punish the suitors may appear immoral in modern society, by considering the ways in which modern society differs from Homeric society, Odysseus’ actions are just in the context of the poem. As violence has an extremely negative connotation in modern society, the use of the death penalty is morally ambiguous, and is a highly debated topic; however, violence is far more legitimized in the society of the Odyssey, and therefore, death is a far more acceptable form of punishment. This idea is exemplified by the way in which violence is discussed between characters within the Odyssey. In particular, this general acceptance of violence is demonstrated through the fact that many of the characters within the Odyssey share an almost unanimous belief that the suitors should be put to death to pay for their crimes.
Odysseus’ slaughter of the suitors was an act of justice and revenge. The act was revenge because slaughtering 108 men for courting your wife and eating your food is insane. If someone did that present-day, society would frown upon the person who committed such an act. It would be considered mass-homicide and the person would be jailed for life. On the other hand, the act is a form of justice because of the setting of the story.
Literature is made to express ideas, provoke thought processes and allow readers access to otherwise unknown experiences along with many other things. Literature has also been used to pinpoint different times in history to be able to understand how our past is affecting our current society. Occasionally, literature is used to concoct propaganda that which can be harmful to our community. In the speech “The American Scholar”, Ralph Waldo Emerson states the greatness and weakness of literary works. “Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst,”.
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
There is an important lesson that Telemachus stands to learn from the Telemachy. That lesson would be the transition from boyhood, to manhood. The Telemachy helps provoke much thought on this particular lesson that Telemachus stands to learn throughout the journey of books 1 through 4 of The Odyssey of Homer. Beginning in book 1, Telemachus is unhappy about what is happening in his home. His mother, Penelope, is under force to become remarried due to the disappearance and/or death, of her husband, Odysseus.
