Odyssey Detailed Study

Garg 1 Rishi Garg English 10, 1st Period Mr. Fox 21 March 2008

From Boy to Man: the Emotional Journey of Telemachus Throughout “The Odyssey”, Telemachus gains a lot of maturity from many different sources. However, there are two specific passages in the poem where he shows extremities of his development: Book Two and Book 22. These two sections of the poem best describe his emotional journey from being a boy to becoming a man worthy of being called Odysseus’ son. In the main portion of Book Two, Telemachus calls the citizens of Ithaca to full assembly. He then proceeds to verbally condemn the suitors for plaguing his house and bothering his mother. Two of the suitors, Antinous and Eurymachus, defend themselves by arguing that Penelope has been leading a game of trickery and deceit by not telling the suitors that she wishes to wait for Odysseus. The exact section of the Book that describes Telemachus’ personality is lines 2.1-230. In these lines, along with denouncing the suitors’ presence in his house, Telemachus speaks about his woes and how he is not strong enough to drive the suitors away. He says: “Now we have no man like Odysseus in command to drive this curse from the house” (2.63-64). This simple statement reflects that Telemachus strongly believes that although his father is very powerful, he himself is a pathetically weak little boy who is incapable of telling grown men what to do.

Garg 2 He continues his speech by saying: “We ourselves? We’re hardly the ones to fight them off. All we’d do is parade our wretched weakness. A boy inept at battle” (2.64-66). These few sentences reveal that Telemachus is very immature in his thinking, similar to a small boy who is being bullied. He further states: “Oh I’d swing to attack if I had the power in me” (2.67). This short line shows that Telemachus is fully aware of his juvenile state of mind. Telemachus also uses certain types of words in his speech to help deliver his message. In lines 2.68-70, he uses words such as “intolerable”, “disgrace”, and “ashamed”. These words commonly bring to mind an image of an elderly grandmother who is scolding a gang of hooligans. Although she might be verbally abusing them, she is incapable of fighting them off. Her situation is similar to Telemachus’, because he is using all the insulting words he knows to scold the suitors, but is also refraining from physically fighting with them. In Book 22, Odysseus, Telemachus, the cowherd, and the swineherd all collaborate to slaughter every last suitor. Throughout the Book, Telemachus brutally kills many suitors. He says to his father: “I’ll arm myself on the way back and hand out arms to the swineherd, arm the cowherd too – we’d better fight equipped!” (22.110-112). These lines symbolize Telemachus’ great courage and fortitude. From these lines, it may be discerned that Telemachus feels that he has the strength to fight alongside his father. Later, when Melanthius discovers Odysseus’ secret stash of weapons, Telemachus calmly admits to his failure in lines 22.162-163. This by itself is a strong indication

Garg 3 that he has learned to take the blame for his mistakes, which is in turn a sign of maturity. After admitting his mistake, Telemachus instructs the swineherd: “Go, Eumaeus, shut the door to the storeroom, check and see if it’s one of the women’s tricks or Dolius’ son Melanthius. He’s our man, I’d say” (22.165167). These lines reflect how Telemachus has learned how to take charge and give instructions. Finally, the fact that he kills many suitors shows that his courage and maturity have both progressed substantially. The differences between Telemachus’ maturity and personality in Books Two and Twenty-Two are vast. In Book Two, his mind is still much like a small child’s. He believes that he is still a child in his house, albeit a slightly large one. He also thinks that the only person who is strong enough to drive the suitors away is his father. However, in Book 22, he has a significantly greater amount of courage. Telemachus is trying to equal his father in terms of strength and greatness. In the later Book, he knows that the only way the suitors will leave is if he does something about it. Although Telemachus turned into somewhat of a man in Book 22, he did not mature without help from others. Many people guided him along the way, including Athena and Odysseus. In Book Two, Athena, disguised as Mentor, gives Telemachus a very inspirational speech. She says to him: “You’ll lack neither courage nor sense from this day on, not if your father’s spirit courses through your veins – now there was a man, I’d say, in words and action both!” (2.303-305). Athena is using Odysseus as an example and role model for Telemachus to look up to. She is also subtly setting a goal for

Garg 4 him: “Few sons are the equals of their fathers; most fall short, all too few surpass them” (2.309-310). Athena is hinting to Telemachus that he should aim to meet or exceed his father’s greatness and reputation, or kleos. In Book 22, Odysseus was Telemachus’ main inspiration for becoming more mature. When Melanthius begins stealing weapons from the secret storeroom, Odysseus says to Telemachus: “A bad break in the fight, my boy! One of the women’s tipped the odds against us – or could it be the goatherd?” (22.160-161). Odysseus calls Telemachus “my boy”, signifying that he wants to build a relationship of trust and guidance. Also, the fact that Odysseus begins his sentence with a statement but changes it to a question reveals that he is using a very subtle technique of guidance; by asking Telemachus for his judgment on the situation, he is effectively forcing Telemachus to give a proper and mature answer. As shown in Book Two, Telemachus is guided mainly by Athena throughout the first half of the whole poem. Although she disguises herself as many different people, Telemachus knows that she is a god and he learns a lot about his father from her. In a way, Athena prepared Telemachus for his future “Atonement with the Father”. Later in the poem, as shown in Book 22, Odysseus becomes Telemachus’ main source of guidance. Athena helped Telemachus’ maturity and courage grow mentally and emotionally, whereas Odysseus helped him grow physically. In conclusion, Telemachus gained a great deal of courage and maturity from many different sources. The poem opens with Telemachus behaving like

Garg 5 a small boy, too frightened to take any action against the suitors. This behavior can be seen in Book Two. However, after Athena guides him, he becomes a much stronger person, both physically and mentally. Finally, when he meets his father, he completes his emotional journey from boy to man. This can be seen in Book 22. Telemachus’ transformation is so immensely great that I believe it is safe to say that if either Athena or Odysseus had not been involved in his life, Telemachus would have remained a boy.