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Telemachus Speech In The Odyssey

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In The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fitzgerald, Telemachus gives a speech to Ithaca. He argues with the guests about disrespecting his father Odysseus’ home, even though they think Odysseus is dead and will never come home. Courageously, Telemachus goes up against the suitors to state control of marriage hospitality. His speech is effective because it shows pathos, logos, and ethos. Telemachus looks and acts the part of his father, astonishing those who presumably knew him as a boy. Let us begin with logos. The offspring of Odysseus worries that his father may not be alive but still must free his home of undesirable suitors. “My distinguished father is lost, who ruled among you once, mild as a father, and there is now this evil still: my …show more content…

“And in hot anger he threw his staff to the ground, and his eyes grown bright with tears” (Book 2, lines 86 – 88). The pathos of his tears affected the suitors. Sympathy ran through the crowd. The audience of the speech was people his father’s age. Telemachus felt that the men had sons too and so should know better. He is annoyed and tired of the nonsense that he is left to deal with since his father’s disappearance and has grown both angry and sad because no one was there for his family when the suitors came and disrespected the great Odysseus’ home. Telemachus also felt sad because he could not believe that his father is absent from his throne to keep peace in Ithaca. Telemachus is passionate in his speech. He lowers himself for help and wants the men to realize that things are going wrong while his father is not there. Order needs to be restored and Telemachus knows that he is not strong enough to be a ruler like his father.
The persona that Telemachus adopts in his speech is honesty, and he wants his audience to see him as being brave and humble. He puts his trust in Ithaca for help. Telemachus grows up without being taught how to be a man. He was considered a weak son of a lord. In book two, Telemachus had enough of the suitors and stood up to speak with bravery to protect his mother Penelope and his

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