Date sent:        Wed, 15 May 1996 22:30:10, -0500

             Throughout The Odyssey, in books I through IV, Homer, 
provides many examples of the maturation process that occurred in 
TelÚmakhos. Homer illustrates the evolution of TelÚmakhosÆs character,
 which leads to his becoming a man.  He uses OdysseusÆs absence from 
his family and the resulting difficulties that this causes to show 
how boys mature into young men and confront life.  This is an 
essential part of the poem because the maturation theme of the story 
can be viewed as every manÆs life.  HomerÆs decision to begin the 
Odyssey with TelÚmakhosÆs evolution into a man is important because 
it represents the universal process of a child becoming an adult and 
taking his place in the world with other adults. 

 The evolution in TelÚmakhosÆs character is depicted by Homer many 
times, beginning in book I with HomerÆs descriptions of the troubling 
situation of OdysseusÆs wife and son.  At this time TelÚmakhos is a 
mere boy who is not capable of assisting his mother with the growing 
problem of the suitorsÆ residence, however, TelÚmakhos begins to grow 
up as the books progress.  The problem of the suitors taking over 
OdysseusÆs house hold persists for a long time, and it gets worse and 
worse.  TelÚmakhos while growing older and becoming more mature, is 
still unsure how to solve the problem that he begins to realize as 
his own responsibility.  At this point in the poem, TelÚmakhos has 
matured from a boy who observes events that happen to him and around 
him to a young man beginning to take responsibility for his family.

 Goddess Athena chooses to help TelÚmakhos with his dilemma.  She 
steps in and points him in the correct direction, and ôlights a fire 
in his soul.ö  She empowers him to search for a solution.  He starts 
to mature faster, and he decides to attempt to solve the problem of 
the suitors.  So he confronts the suitors in an assembly, yet he 
fails to persuade the group of them to leave because they think he is 
a just a child incapable of running a household. 

 TelÚmakhos decides not to give up, as any maturing young adult might 
do.  As a result of his decision not to give up, he chooses to 
confront each suitor individually.  TelÚmakhos, he finds the 
situation more complex than he originally assumed, and that solving 
his dilemma will now be more difficult.  His mother PenÚlopÛ had been 
leading them on with her weaving, and they thought that eventually 
one of them could marry her.   To TelÚmakhos, this became a very 
complex situation, nevertheless, he still would not give up trying to 
solve the problem.  Now, TelÚmakhos knows that these matters involve 
more people, not just the suitors.  Hence, he will need help from 
others continuing his journey in search of a solution.

 Throughout books I through IV, TelÚmakhosÆs maturation is proven by 
the fact that he recognizes that his mother cannot deal with the 
problem of the suitors by herself. TelÚmakhos takes responsibility 
for attempting to solve the problems as man of the house in his 
father's absence.  TelÚmakhos also shows his development by 
attempting to confront the suitors as a group, and confronting them 
individually, then discovering that his mother has been leading them 
on. 

 Each time he attempts to confront the suitors he fails, but each 
time he fails, he decides not to give up.  Through this series of 
attempts and failures, he gains much more knowledge of the 
complexities of the problem his family faces.  This understanding 
leads him by the end of book IV to realize he cannot solve the 
problem by himself and he must seek the assistance of others.  In 
this way, through the four books, he has gone from a boy to a young 
man in the way that every man searches through the difficulties of 
childhood and becomes an adult.

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Uploader: Oren Arbit
Email: xjwk27c@prodigy.com
Language: English
Subject: English
Book: Odessey
Title: The Maturation of Telemakos
Grade: 88%
Age when handed in: 15
Country: USA
Comments: A fine paper on Telemakos, Oddyseus's son, and how he
  matures throughout the story. 
Where I got the Evil House of Cheat Address: A link from phrekman
Date: ????