Telemachus is one of the most dynamic characters we have seen in the whole book so far. His character not only starts out as fairly pathetic but gains a large amount of confidence and respectability by the point we have read up to now.
Telemachus starts out moping in his house contemplating whether his father will actually return home and not really doing anything substantive. The main good quality that we see he has at this point is the fact that he completely follows the laws of hospitality. He welcomes his guests without any qualms and doesn't even want to hear what he is there about until he has been welcomed.
We first see Telemachus' development with Athena prodding him to go and visit the other islands/states to learn more about where is father is. Although Athena helps him, Telemachus does a large amount of the work himself in terms if the talking and interacting with others.
We really see most of his development in the few chapters where he meets his father. First, he is able to come up with a plan with his dad and begins to put it into motion. There is no hesitation in him helping his dad with the arms or him not telling his mother or any others what is happening. Telemachus also starts to stand up to the suitors. At one point he threatens to pull his sword out and go at them, but he is laughed at. Although he is laughed at, the fact that he still has the courage to say something like that shows a large amount of character development.
Overall, Telemachus is one of the more developed characters and we can see this in many ways. It will be interesting to see how he develops in the remaining few chapters of the book.
Telemachus starts out moping in his house contemplating whether his father will actually return home and not really doing anything substantive. The main good quality that we see he has at this point is the fact that he completely follows the laws of hospitality. He welcomes his guests without any qualms and doesn't even want to hear what he is there about until he has been welcomed.
We first see Telemachus' development with Athena prodding him to go and visit the other islands/states to learn more about where is father is. Although Athena helps him, Telemachus does a large amount of the work himself in terms if the talking and interacting with others.
We really see most of his development in the few chapters where he meets his father. First, he is able to come up with a plan with his dad and begins to put it into motion. There is no hesitation in him helping his dad with the arms or him not telling his mother or any others what is happening. Telemachus also starts to stand up to the suitors. At one point he threatens to pull his sword out and go at them, but he is laughed at. Although he is laughed at, the fact that he still has the courage to say something like that shows a large amount of character development.
Overall, Telemachus is one of the more developed characters and we can see this in many ways. It will be interesting to see how he develops in the remaining few chapters of the book.
I agree that Telemachus is one of the most developed characters so far, and I would even argue that the Odyssey is actually more of Telemachus's "hero" story than Odysseus's, since it seems like Odysseus has already sort of had his hero story. One of the most interesting parts of the book for me was watching how people differently described Telemachus from the beginning towards the end of the book. As he becomes more confident and more of a hero, a lot of people begin commenting that he seems exactly like his father now, which is true in a way as he has the same cunning and intelligence as him. This is a huge contrast from the beginning of the book, where there were actually a lot of subtle questions going around about whether he was actually Odysseus's son. I also thought that it was a huge mark of his development from the passive character he was at first that the suitors always seem completely shocked whenever he says anything.
ReplyDeleteTelemachus has definitely gone on his own journey, and regardless of the help given to him by Athena, is much closer to being a hero than he was at the start of the book. I think it's especially evident in the narrator's language describing Telemachus, which in the homecoming section of the book is quite positive: poised, gallant, clear-headed. He still doesn't do everything perfectly and feels a little awkwardly inexperienced next to Odysseus, but in terms of an actual journey I think Telemachus has come farther.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your assessment that Telemachus is the most dynamic hero in this poem. I feel like this has a lot to do with the different kinds of heroic journeys that he takes compared to that of his father. Odysseus' hero journey is a journey filled with very physical obstacles, like oceans, and Cilla, but his son's is a journey of the mind, and given this is the case, through that we see more of a character change in him.
ReplyDeleteTelemachus isn't only the most developed, but he also seems to develop in a relatively short amount of time. Given his circumstances, it would almost be impossible not to develop. I'm curious as to whether The Odyssey is somehow setting the stage for Telemachus's own heroic epic, in a way that The Illiad sets up The Odysey.
ReplyDeleteTelemachus certainly seems emboldened by the presence of his father--we can almost see him physically grow in stature when Odysseus first appears without the disguise. Literally being in an alliance with him, taking part in a complex tactical plot and the strong sense of solidarity this generates, seems to cement his coming-of-age. He simply needed a father figure, apparently. He's moving in this direction from the start of the poem, but the king's presence makes him more princely.
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