Disscuss odyssey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Disscuss odyssey - Essay Example 27). Several examples of father/son relationships are provided, including those of Odysseus and Telemachus, Laertes and Odysseus, Poseidon and Polyphemus, Nestor and Pisistratus, and Eupithes and Antinous. Through these relationships, Homer portrays the idea of continuity between generations as traits of the fathers are carried forward and reflected or as they are rejected and refused in the sons. By tracing the relationships between fathers and sons as they relate to Odysseus and Telemachus and each other, Homer shows not only how the strength of family can overcome seemingly insurmountable outcomes, but also how the continuity of traits and characteristics between generations can help a family succeed or bring it to ruin. Odysseus and Telemachus have an absent relationship despite the fact that they are father and son, yet the traits of the father can still be recognized in the activities and thoughts of the son. Because Odysseus embodies the values of hospitality, good manners, loyalty, intelligence and patience, the reader should be able to see these traits in his son. However, having not had his father’s influence, Telemachus instead demonstrates an inability to manage his houseguests and an awkwardness in cultured manners when he arrives in Pylos at the beginning of the tale, aspects of his character that take the goddess Athena by surprise when she decides to send him on a hero’s quest. â€Å"Although the goddess is at once impressed by Telemachus’ physical resemblance to his famous father, his insecurity is such that he is even unsure of his own identity and never refers to his father by name† (Clarke, 1967, p. 32). His contacts with first Nestor and then Menelaus pr ovide him with the examples he needs of a healthy father/son relationship as well as the example these leaders set in being a â€Å"father figure† to their