From chapter 1 to chapter 6,there are two characters that outshine others.One is Telemachus,son of the big hero Odysseus,the other one is of course Odysseus.I never did understand why an epic named The Odyssey should spend so much time depicting his own son until I finish reading these 6 chapters.As a Chinese proverb goes'Like father,like son.'When I started reading the story,I certainy did not see much resembelance between Telemachus and Odysseus.
First by far to see her was Prince Telemachus,sitting among the suitors,heart obssessed with grief.He could almost see his magnificent father,here,inthe mind's eye--if only he might drop from the clouds and drive these suitors all in a rout throughout the halls and regain his pride of place and rule his own domains!Daydreaming so as he sat among the suitors,he glimpsed Athena now and straight to the porch he went,mortified that a guest might still be standing at the doors.[Chaper 1:Athena inspires the prince]
This is how Telemachus appeared from the outset.A grieving boy,daydreaming for his father to come back so that he could live his old life back.He was just a normal boy rather than a prince.But this is just the begging.Chapter 1 is named as 'Athena inspires the prince'.Seeing all the suitors horsing around in his own palace while harrassing his mother,the prince could do nothing but let it be.He might could not convince even himself that he is the son of Odysseus.But with Athena coming into the picture,a seed of growth was planted deep in his heart.Athena encouraged the boy and told him exactly what to do next.A boy started to jump out of his comfort zone and embarked on the road of becoming a real prince,or,in his way,a real man.Chapter 2 to chapter 4 records how Telemachus made his effort in detail from setting for sail to his visits to Nestor and Sparta.Through all the visits,Telemachus was apprised of how great a man his father is from numerous heroic stories about his father.Although Homer never described how his mind developed after his adventures as well as having heard all the stories,we can sense that the seed was gradually growing into a small tree.
Chapter 5 and 6 saw the presence of our main character Odysseus.He was all the things people said he was.He was smart,sophisticated,brave,courageous,all roled into one.And looking back on chapter 1-4,a contrast between Telemachus and Odyssey is quite evident.Telemachus was born with a golden spoon in his mouth,with not even a care to what was going on outside his palace,he was pure,naive,inexperienced.His father's dissapperance was like throwing a baby eagle out of his shell.This contrast leads me to think the growth of a person.Every one of us was as pure and naive as Telemachus,cherished as the most precious thing of the world by our parents,we barely know what a dog eats dog world it is.But sooner or later,as we grow up,or if certain things happen to us to expedite the process,we are then forced to come out of the comfort zone and taste the bitterness of life,thus hopefully become a real grown-up.
From time to time I lay my eyes on my peers around me,people who were born after 1995.I'd say we were born out of a rather flourishing era compared to our parents and grandparents.Almost everyone of us is a daydreaming youngster as Telemachus.
Once from a class on how to find a job,our teacher showed many excellent resumes to us and told us what kind of occupations these kind of resumes ended up with.She then asked us what kind of job we want to do after graduation and told us to raise our hands if we found the occupation she named of interested us.A teacher?A civil servant?To start our own business?Surprisingly,few of us raised our hands to either of these choices.Then she inquired about what are our dream salaries after graduation.3000?None.6000?Few.8000-10000?A lot.She then joked'It seems to me that all of you are going to make a lot of money by doing extraordinary jobs.'If she should have inquired further,she'd see that what we want to do are those jobs that interest us most and at the same time have a good pay.
Later on I pondered over why this kind of thing could happen.Then it dawned on me that many of us were too well preserved by our parents to know what a cruel world we're living in.We barely knew the difference between what we can achieve and what the world has to offer.Hardly can we be described as grown-ups for although we're past 18,we seem to still live in our own worlds as long as we're in schools.
In fact,all people was Telemachus once,and just like what's happened to Telemachus,it takes time and great effort to become Odysseus.
