Odyssey Argumentative Essay Argumentative Essay Example

The Odyssey is an epic by Homer. It is a story about Odysseus journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War. All the Greek heroes had returned home after the Trojan War, except for Odysseus who was an important hero in Ithaca. Odysseus was absent in his son’s life and Telemachus decided that, it was time to locate his father so that he could come back home to his wife Penelope. Odysseus was trapped in Calypso Island for ten years and this made his son Telemachus to embark on a journey to find him after he learnt that he was not dead. The story is filled with mysterious and supernatural forces and happenings, but they still keep the characters going on in their expeditions. The Odyssey is an epic whereby the characters are developed and brought out. In addition, the characters are drastically changed by the journeys they undertake, despite the influence from both supernatural and human forces. After the journey, Telemachus is able to mature up and become a man while Odysseus is able to become a hero of the people of Ithaca.
Odysseus is the protagonist in the story of The Odyssey. Odysseus is a man who earned glory and honor among his people due to his heroic acts and acts of valor. Odysseus took a journey away from Ithaca to go fight and bring victory to his people. During the time he was away, Odysseus experienced a lot of changes in his life. For instance, he had to learn the hard way because he suffered a lot on his way back home. Odysseus journey on his way back to Ithaca was a learning experience for him as he grows in judgment and wisdom. Nonetheless, his son Telemachus demonstrates a great change compared to him.
Telemachus took a journey out of Ithaca to look for his father Odysseus after learning from Athena that “great Odysseus is not dead” (Lombardo 84). Telemachus follows his father’s footsteps as the hero of the family, and the people of Ithaca. Odysseus and Telemachus each follow through on their own journeys toward character development in this epic, but in the end, Telemachus is the character who demonstrates greater change and development during the time he was way from Ithaca. In Homer’s Odyssey, Telemachus is complex character that is developed throughout the story from an immature and timid young man to a mature man. Telemachus depicted a great change after his after his conversation, with Athena. For many years, he had permitted his mother’s suitors to feast and stay in his palace every time they felt like without complaining. But after he met Athena, this came to an end. He says to them “You must leave my palace! see to your feasting elsewhere, devour your own possessions, house to house by turns” (Lombardo 104). During this time, even the suitors were astounded at his impetuous strength and maturity, “And they all bit their lips, amazed the prince could speak with so much daring” (Lombardo 105).
Just like Odysseus, Telemachus is also a central character in the Odyssey. Telemachus experienced his awakening when he started struggling with his mother’s suitors in the village. Even though he does not match his father’s agility and strength, after embarking on the journey away from Ithaca, he was able to reunite his mother and father ultimately. Initially, Telemachus is depicted as a young naïve, timid, and spineless boy, until he meets the disguised goddess, Athena. Athena makes it clear to him that, “You need not bear this insolence of theirs; you are a child no longer” (Lombardo 44). From then onwards, the character of Telemachus starts to develop from a young naïve, weak and powerless boy, to a man who is ready to fight for his mother and to bring his father back home.
Telemachus is the character who exhibits a greater change during the times he was away from Ithaca. In the process of searching his father, Telemachus began a process of maturation whereby at the end of his expedition, he was able to come to age after his quest. After he left Ithaca, Telemachus was able to mature up and become a man who was ready to fight for his family and the people of Ithaca. In book one of The Odysseys; Telemachus is depicted as an immature lad who had no confidence to stand up to his mother’s suitors who had taken over the palace and lands that belonged to his father. During this time, he was still in Ithaca and he felt helpless wishing that his father was around. Later on, he left Ithaca in search for his father and in his expedition, his inner strength is developed as he experiences change away from home. The great change demonstrated by Telemachus in The Odyssey is noticeable from a young and powerless boy to becoming one of the most honored son’s to the Ithaca people.
In addition, in The Odyssey, Telemachus is a character that demonstrates a greater change basing upon the times he was away from Ithaca because he came back a changed person. In the text, Telemachus starts up as a boy who is pampered by the mum, but after leaving Ithaca, he comes back as a mature man who can even become the king of the people. The trip away from Ithaca made Telemachus a wise and transformed man who could defend his family. A good example is when he tells the suitors "but if you are determined to murder me with the sharp bronze, then that would be my wish also, since it would be far better than to have to go on watching forever these shameful activities" (Lombardo 319). These are the same suitors he was afraid of before leaving Ithaca, but when he came back, he had the courage to face them especially after the return of his father. Telemachus changes into a thoughtful and tactful man who owns up to his mistakes and is ready to face the consequences.
At the end of The Odyssey, Homer shows the reader the defining maturity and development of Telemachus. Telemachus had greatly changed as the novel ends. For instance, when Odysseus returns home to his wife and slays all the suitors; Telemachus scolds his mother for not falling at his husband’s feet. He says “Mother, cruel mother, do you feel nothing, drawing yourself apart this way from father? Will you not with him and talk and question him, your heart is hard as flint and never changes” (Lombardo 460). Telemachus had matured into a young man after his journey away from Ithaca and it is clear that, he is the character who demonstrates a greater change during the time he was away from Ithaca. In the end of the story, Telemachus was a different person from who he was from the beginning. Another instance that shows a great change on Telemachus after he left Ithaca was when he kills Eurymachus. Eurymachus was one of his greatest frustrations before his departure from Ithaca. When he came back, he had to make people believe that he was serious when he embarked on the journey away from his home, and that he had developed into a mature man who could defend the entire village when his father was no more.
In conclusion, Odysseus and Telemachus each pursue on their own journeys toward character development in The Odyssey. All through The Odyssey, the characters develop in a certain way that interchanges the outcome of the book. Odysseus is able to develop knowledge and wisdom to deal with his men during the battle and the suitors who were frustrating his wife. In addition, he came back home as a hero after the Trojan War. Telemachus developed into a mature man who could deal with any problem in the absence of his father. However, based on the story, it is evident that, Telemachus demonstrates a great change basing upon the times the characters were away from Ithaca. At the end of the story, it is evident that, the character of Telemachus is fully developed. He is no longer the young powerless and weak boy who his mother’s suitors took advantage of the absence of his father. At the end of The Odyssey, he depicts a character with great change after leaving Ithaca and in his own odyssey; he was able to prove his worth. Telemachus is a character who undergoes constant transformation and development throughout The Odyssey. His expedition was an initiation into the heroic world of his father, and a voyage that managed to endow him with the familiarity and essential virtues needed to become a future monarch. He demonstrated a great change after he came back to Ithaca and this makes him a remarkable character that developed his character in the epic.

Work Cited

Lombardo, Stanley. Odyssey: Homer. Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2000. Print.