In many parts of the world, the position of the man or the father in the family is valued. A lot of the time, there is emphasis on the man being the head of the family. In The Odyssey, Homer points out the focus on the father-son relationship. At first sight, when looking at the relationship between Odysseus and Telemachus, there is a mutual connection or a two way street of pride and respect. Telemachus respects and is proud of his father, a war hero, just as Odysseus is proud of his son. Despite there being a physical gap in their relationship, Homer is able to keep the father-son bond between Odysseus and Telemachus. However, what I find interesting is that the missing presence of his father, allows Telemachus to achieve a greater bond with his father, in his adventure to look for his father. From Odysseus’ point, although his yearning to come home may be controversial, from the Homer’s standpoint, Odysseus wants to come home to see his wife and son.
2 thoughts on “Discuss Homer’s focus on the father-son relationship”
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I agree with you, there is still a close father-son relationship despite them ever being physically close. Telemachus has an idea of what his father is like from what he has heard, from his mother and other people. Odysseus does not have the privilege of knowing his son personally (until later on), but he is still proud of his son and keeps that in mind throughout his journey.
I also wrote about the father-son relationship and I felt that Telemachus did his best to protect his father’s honor. His mother being pursued by the suitors did ignite Telemachus to worry and to lay down the law. He did not do this early on because he wasn’t sure if he was the man of the house. Once he starts taking this position he tells the suitors to stop eating all the food and we see their attitude change.