Telemachi

In the introduction of Telemachus he was depicted as timorous and mousy. Telemachus was always one to bow down to the suitors and let them walk all over him and Penelope. When Mentes presents himself it is conspicuos that Telemachus needs to go in search of his father. So he sets sail to Pylos and Sparta. Once Telemachus returned to Ithaca he is reunited with Odysseus; this time when Telemachus sees the suitors he starts to take command. Now that Telemachus and Odysseus are reunited they both put their machiavellian minds together and think of a mischievous plan to take down the suitors. At this moment Telemachus shows great courage, he needs this in order to terminate the suitors. This was a major trial that Telemachus faced, this trial truly showed that Telemachus has grown and really matured and is starting to become a sturdy, well grounded young man that resembles his father

Taylor Guidry

Hannah Holliday 

Growth of Telemachus

Q Tabarestani, Worthely Burke, and Mason Mings                               The Kinkaid School

English 9-3                                                                                               November 8, 2012

The Evolution of Telemachus in The Odyssey

At the start of the Odyssey, the reader is introduced to Telemachus, son of the great Odysseus, and Homer provides a few characteristics that truly depict the character. First, the book describes Telemachus as a daydreaming man with a “heart obsessed with grief” among a crowd of dangerous suitors ready to kill him for the kingdom (Book 1: 133). He is also portrayed as being helpless and powerless which leads to his rather low self-esteem. He longs for his father to “drop from the clouds and drive these suitors” away from him and his lonely mother (Book 1: 135-136). On the other hand, when Athena arrives disguised as Mentor, Telemachus shows hospitality and generosity towards his guest. During this time, the suitors continue to mock and belittle him but “cool-headed Telemachus” remains calm and follows the instructions of Athena to set sail and find his father (Book 1: 445). As he prepares to leave, he begins to give orders to his followers and calls a full counsel which shows that his bravery and courage have increased slightly. He also is still immature because he continues to go to Athena for assistance and says, “leave me alone to pine away in anguish” which reiterates his inability to handle his issues. In addition, Athena gets annoyed by Telemachus and tells him not to speak anymore nonsense to the suitors. As the Book 4 progresses, Homer begins to describe Telemachus as “clear-sighted” and demanding as he searches for clues on the location of his father (Book 4: 325). He is said to have a “newfound tact” or sense of diplomacy (Book 4: 667). Overall, at the end of his search for Odysseus, Telemachus truly shows a  different side of his character with new abilities such as maturity, courage, and self-esteem which is shown throughout his dialogue with the kings and Athena.

  After Telemachus returns home to Ithaca and is convinced that the beggar in disguise is Odysseus, the reader sees another growth of Telemachus that can be interpreted in several ways. First, we see a more cunning Telemachus that “[maneuvers] shrewdly” and mocks the suitors into trying to string the bow (Book 20: 285). He also builds the strength to defend his father in the presence of sardonic suitors and Telemachus does not even take into account their attitude towards him. Once the slaughter begins, which he also took a major role in planning, he stands by his father with persistent courage and massacres most of the sin committing suitors. However, in Book 23, Telemachus shows a little immaturity towards his mother when he says, “cruel mother, you with your hard heart” because she has not yet embraced her husband (Book 23: 112). He does not realize what she is planning and jumps to conclusions like many young teenagers do in modern times. All in all, through books 20-24, Telemachus demonstrates his loyalty towards his father, immaturity to his astonished mother, and the strength to overpower the suitors who had ruined his life for many long years. He truly grew as the story progressed from a lonely, spineless, and weak boy to a strong, diligent, and witty young man.

Jeel and Samantha - Telemachus's Growth

Throughout the Odyssey, Telemachus grows physically, mentally and emotionally. In the beginning of his life, Telemachus seems to be just a normal teenager - insecure, sometimes rude, but always following the rules. He followed the code of xenia and could be a bit shy at times. He had lost all hope for his father’s return, thinking “The day of his return will never dawn”. Telemachus as well as his mother grieved constantly, for example, “[Odysseus] left me tears and grief” (Book 1, 85). At the end of the book, he knew how to turn heads. There is a huge difference between how he talked to the suitors and his mother in the beginning of the story versus the end. Odysseus’s return provides him with confidence, pride, and daring. He also learns to shove off all of the many insults thrown at him. When the suitors mock him, “Telemachus paid no heed” (Book 20, 419). Lastly, he musters up the courage to stop his aggressive father from killing an innocent life. All in all, Telemachus gradually transforms from a shy teenager to a honorable man.

Telemachus' Growth

In the beginning of the Odyssey, Homer illustrated Telemachus as a shy and defenseless teenager. He brainstorms ideas that would be auspicious for him and his mother, but is not able to convince himself to take action. Mentor pushes Telemachus to talk to King Nestor in regards towards his father, Odysseus. However, Telemachus, being the shy teenager he is, responds, "I'm hardly adept at subtle conversation. Someone my age might feel shy" (Book 3: 25-26). As Telemachus continues his journey to find his father, his sensitivity is noticed by King Menelaus when Telemachus decides to leave his parting gifts in the King's glory. King Menelaus responds "Good blood runs in you... your words are proof" (Book 4: 87). Although changes in Telemachus are seen, there are also changes for the bad. Telemachus is depicted as an insensible teenager. He expects his mother to forgive and trust his father as soon as she sees him. He insults his mother by saying her heart "was always harder than a rock" (Book 23: 117). However, Odysseus did not expect much from Penelope other than a talk. Although Telemachus' sensitivity evolves from some to none, it was only based on the circumstances. In the end, Telemachus is seen as a brave grown man by slaughtering the suitors one by one in companionship with his father, Athena and Zeus. Telemachus is both tested for courage and sensitivity in search for his father.
-Alondra Reyes and Jack Schuette

Telemachus

In the beginning of the Odyssey, we see Telemachus as a timid boy constantly under the wrath of the suitors. (Book 2: 298-9) "The suitors most of all, the pernicious bullies - foil each move I make." We can see here that Telemachus has little courage. It is at this time when he realizes that he cannot stay like this forever, and so he sets sails to find new of his father. Upon return, he is reunited with Odysseus and by this time, Telemachus has shown a great display of courage and pride in himself. No longer timid, in book 22 line 487, he is called "Stern Telemachus." We can also see that upon Odysseus' return, Telemachus takes no hesitation to lash out at Penelope for not weeping at his feet. This is a sharp change from the beginning, when he is very mindful of his mother (Book 23: 111-19). At the end of the book, Telemachus, with the help of his dad and 2 other people, slaughter all of the suitors. This is the true test of Telemachus' courage as he was very scared of them in book 1. 

Blake Lattimer

Colin Sunderland

Telemachus' Growth

Telemachus's Growth

In the beginning of the Odyssey, Homer characterizes Telemachus as shy and insecure. The suitors constantly walk all over him, and he never stands up for himself. Telemachus believes the suitors will "grind (him) down as well" (Book 1: 293) He acts like a ''momma's boy'' and does not even believe that Odysseus is his father. After being inspired by Athena disguised as Mentes, Telemachus realizes he needs to grow up and take on the responsibility of finding news of his father in order to protect his kingdom. When Telemachus returns from the journey, he has transformed to a new person. He finally begins to act like a man. Although some of the changes were good, some things changed him for the worse. Unlike in the beginning of the book, he is disrespectful towards his mother and thinks he knows everything. When Penelope is actually showing her cunning, Telemachus believes she is being evil and says "cruel mother with your hard heart!" (Book 23: 112). He finally gets the courage to stand up to the suitors and kill them one-by-one. He becomes bold when he takes upon all of the suitors, only having his father and two other men on their side. Now, instead of being the shy, insecure, ''momma's boy'', Telemachus changes to a confident, clever, ''daddy's little man''.

-Amy Drews and Madison Frandina

Vocabulary Practice for my Most "Special" Students

In a comment, please write a short paragraph in which you persuade me of something--you choose.  You must use at least 3 Ch. 6 vocabulary words in  your response as well as one EUPHEMISM (the more creative, the better).