As the Odyssey goes on, Telemachus seems more and more in charge. He is able to successfully ask the people he meets about Odysseus, and when the time comes to go home, he is able to take full command of his crew to avoid the suitors, coming up with clever excuses. When he returns, he seems very much more in charge. He takes command with Eumaeus and his disguised father when he visits them, and is able to not only listen to Odysseus's plan, but offer his own input as well. Upon his return to the palace, he speaks much more confidently around the suitors rather than being completely passive. He's willing to fight alongside his father in the bloodbath of Book 22, and even has his own decision to do a mass execution for the unfaithful maids.
At first, this personal growth seemed unnatural to me. Homer is trying to get me to believe that Telemachus goes from being a passive boy to a man capable of performing mass execution in one week? Interactions from his homecoming made me especially skeptical of this. The fact that, after only one week of being away at sea, his nurse and swineherd show that much affection for his return? It was as if he had fought in the Trojan War himself! As said in class, it almost reminds me of a little kid coming home from summer camp for the first time. So, he clearly hasn't shown much maturity up until now. And yet, he's still able to go along with a slaughter and think to mass hang the maids?
I thought about this a little further, however, and realized that this might not be so unnatural. The reason I say this is mainly because of his parents. Both of them are very cunning and very smart, so some of that had to be passed down to him. So, he naturally has some cunning, but how does he go through such a transformation in such a short time? I'm wondering if maybe he's only making an external show of transformation. He makes several mistakes in spite of his supposed coming-of-age, clearly still showing that he has a lot of room to grow. Yet, he's trying to be stronger. Maybe having his father there also encouraged him; he has more of a safety net with him there. Overall, I'm not sure whether or not I fully believe how far Telemachus has come in such a short amount of time, yet subtle mistakes make me still believe that he could have gone that far in maturity.
great post. It is really interesting how Telemachus's hero's journey doesn't really involve that much heroism until the end, especially when you compare it to Odysseus fighting in the Trojan war and enduring all these tragedies. I like your point about his parents and how he might be trying to live up to their example of heroism. I also agree that he might not be as much of a hero as he might seem though -- it seems like compared to Odysseus, there was a lot of Athena's manipulation involved in getting Telemachus to take charge.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I agree with your idea that Telemachus might not be letting on earlier what exactly is going on in his head. It seems unrealistic that he goes from mopey boy to murderous young man, so maybe he isn't just moping at the beginning? It's hard to say, but very thought-provoking nonetheless!
ReplyDeleteI thought the same exact thing. I wasn't sure how Telemachus was growing up so fast. Although he seems to be acting a bit more grown-up, I was wondering if he was just trying to act the part or if he genuinely had morphed into a wiser and stronger person. I feel like he might have been acting a bit because of what mistakes he made by leaving the door open. Maybe hanging all the servant women was a way that he tried to show he was grown up and make up for leaving the door open.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that Telemachus just need a kick in the pants to get going. His entire life he was told "you look a lot like your father" suggesting that he also the the potential to be a heroic figure like Odysseus. Telemachus just needed a catalyzing event to get him out of the mopey sate and reach his true potential of becoming like his father. The event in this story is a combination of Athena spurring him to action, and being reunited with his father solidifies the "reaction".
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Telemachus is an important character, and his development, quick as it may be, is important. It seems as though Homer rushed through the end of his coming of age, but by the end of the book we see he has grown up (at least a little)
ReplyDeleteI think it's very interesting to think of the Odyssey in the perspective of Telemachus' growth like you have--it essentially begins and ends with him. I believe what is considered to be the Telemachiad (books one through four) is in fact only the first half; we don't find closure in his character's development nor satisfaction in the ending of it. However, in the last chapters we do see that his character has blossomed (to an extent, as you have written about) so perhaps the Telemachiad is in fact a longer section, interrupted by his father's wanderings?
ReplyDeleteThe presence of Odysseus seems important to how Homer casts Telemachus's rather sudden coming-of-age. There is some "training" as he goes off on his minor diplomatic journey, and he does narrowly escape death upon his return (more or less--Athena helps a LOT), but the decisive shift seems to come with meeting his father. Remember that a large part of his indecision and angst at the start has to do with his doubts about Odysseus returning, and even his doubts about whether he's "really" the king's son. In the slaughter scene, he is "led" by Odysseus, and we can view the battle itself as a kind of supreme ordeal for him, a testing grounds where he can prove himself worthy: it takes him a few tries, but we are told that he *would* be able to string the bow, if Odysseus hadn't winked at him and told him to wait.
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ReplyDeleteGood post, Nathan. I think that Telemachus' transformation was pretty unfeasible. I like how you point out that Telemachus did make a few mistakes, but his coming of age story is still very unrealistic. The moment where Telemachus leaves the door to the room of weapons open is definitely a point where he slips up, because he's not used to fighting, unlike his father. Also him getting nicked by a suitor and failing to move his father's bow shows how Telemachus didn't fully develop.
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