Doherty 3

the truth to Telemachos, and "in the spirit ofthe boy she
fieaves]
courage and confidence, and he
[thinks]
of his fattrer even more than before" (Homer 1l). The author refers to Telemachos as a
'f
wq)8''t1o\A
oboy,'
which reiterates the idea of his immaturity. However, Athena's grand
ryl
of the truth
forces him to retaliate as a man, as he now has
ocourage
and confidence,' both mature traits.
Thinking of his father 'even more than before' shows that he wants to emulate Odysseus and his
manliness. Although Telemachos is now aided by the truth to guide his development, he falters
at a crucial moment by leaving the door to the weapons room open, allowing the suitors to arm
themselves. Horrified when he discovers this, he cries,
o"it
is my fault- no one else is to blame!"'
(Homer 273).T\e association of his actions with 'fault' and 'blame' demonstrate themistake on
Telemachos's part. Sayrng that 'no one else' is at fault also suggests that nobody else would have
made that error, displaying Telemachos's inexperience while showing how much he has to grow
before he is fully a man. Although he handles situations with more ease than Connie, because of
his lack of parental guidance, Telemachos is clearly not ready for the responsibilities that come
with being a man.
Unlike Connie and Telemachos, John tansitions seamlessly from boy to man when he
discovers the truth about the Dead Places solely because of the way his father raised him. John,
the narrator of "By the Waters of Babyloq" remarks,
*My
father watched over me-he was glad
that I should be a priest" (Bendt 1). This
opriest'
is a knowledgeable and important man who sees
more of the world than others and explores the clgypTtls of the Dead Places. The use of
n
'watched' to describe John's father not only shows how careful and attentive the older man ilut
also how well he raises John: he inroduces him to different aspects of their world while
protecting him from hann. Ben6t's description of John's father as 'glad' that John should be a
priest demonstrates the
joy
the priest feels, because now he can teach John more about the
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