Kenneth Nacion September 20, 2010

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Books XIII-XIX

In our last mentoring session, we had to “tag” people with what our

impressions were of them. Most of them tagged me as “Philippine President,” the

one most likely to enter into politics, which I think was because they regard me

highly. In the last PTS, however, I was bashed for being “too normal” and “being

an Average Joe” by one of my teachers. Thinking about it now, I recognized that I

have different reputations from people whom I interact with. The same thing

applied to Odysseus, especially when he was away from Ithaca for twenty long

years. In this passage, Odysseus was both the harsh man being wished all the

evils of this world and the blameless man who is praised by the men who knew

him.

Odysseus was revered throughout Ithaca and the whole Greece, but his

status really increased when he won the war for the Greeks with his Trojan Horse

gambit. He, like the other Greeks, had to unleash his brutality on the Trojans

while he was sacking the city. It won him praise from the Greeks, so when when

Telemachos went to Pylos and Sparta, he heard wonderful words being spoken

of his father by the kings of those places, and those kings shared Telemachos’

desire of having Odysseus back home in Ithaca. But while Odysseus was away,

the suitors took advantage of his absence and started courting his wife, simply

thinking of Odysseus as dead or never to return. In other words, a failed king, so

they continued wishing that Odysseus will never return to Ithaca, allowing them
Kenneth Nacion September 20, 2010
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to potentially be the king.

Another case would be how two gods, Poseidon and Athene, perceive

Odysseus. For Athene, Odysseus is an intelligent and courageous warrior who

has suffered for too long already and deserves his grand homecoming. For

Poseidon, on the other hand, Odysseus was a deceiver, a rebel against the

power of the gods, and someone who deserves to be punished, so he made

Odysseus’ life miserable. After the initial mishaps in Odysseus’ journey,

Poseidon really brought hell to his journey home by striking at every opportunity

he can. While Odysseus suffered, Athene, who was sympathetic to Odysseus,

formulated a plan on bringing him home to Ithaca, disregarding what Poseidon

thought of Odysseus.

At this point in the story, Penelope is close to taking in a new husband, not

knowing of Odysseus and Telemachos’ plan. She reminisces and discloses that

Odysseus was very unpopular to some people, whom he may have wronged

throughout his life. Her thoughts on Odysseus however, are similar to those who

wish Odysseus good fortune. For her, Odysseus is a great king and her loving

husband, and it is no wonder to her that a lot of people think of Odysseus highly.

In reminiscing about Odysseus, she acknowledges that her husband will not

come back anymore, and it is highly likely that he is dead. She took a moment to

remember him on the night before she was to be taken as the bride of one of the

suitors.
Kenneth Nacion September 20, 2010
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We all make our reputations with our various actions. However, we cannot

control what the people will think of us. No matter how good our actions are, our

reputations are up to the interpretations of the people who know us.

Word Count: 549

Books XX-XXIV

At this point in my life, a lot of adults are telling me that I now have to be

responsible for my own decisions and the mistakes that come whenever my

decisions are wrong. I have to swallow my enormous pride, admit that I’m wrong,

and if possible, ask help from people of higher authority like my parents,

teachers, etc. In this passage, Telemachos also undergoes this change that

comes with growing up.

When Telemachos was introduced in the first few books, it was easy to

see that he was a naïve and clueless boy who seemingly had not encountered

any problem aside from the suitors swallowing up the estate, something he did

not even bother trying to solve. It was only after Athene’s pushing that he actually

took up the responsibility, so he was instructed by the goddess to travel to

several places and inquire about his father. Although Telemachos got some very

useful information when he inquired about his father, it was not Athene’s purpose
Kenneth Nacion September 20, 2010
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of sending him out. She just wanted him to grow up, like how those adults are

always preaching me, and in the process, make a name for himself. Athene

wanted to transform him from being that naïve clueless boy to a strong-willed

man as a part of the process of bringing Odysseus back home to Ithaca.

Telemachos admitting his mistake to his father shows this fact that he has

matured. He grew up and is no longer what people would consider young and

weak, taking up the responsibility for his mistakes. In the process of his travelling,

he became more experienced, and it is this experience that actually allowed him

to be wary of betrayal by the people close to him. The fact that he was able to

correctly pinpoint who the traitor was is a testament to this.

When we make mistakes, we usually admit them to people whom we

consider more authoritative than us. In admitting his mistake to Odysseus,

Telemachos acknowledges Odysseus as his father, which is quite remarkable

since he’s only known Odysseus by name for most of his life and only got to

meet him several days before this event. After all those years of being fatherless,

Telemachos finally has a father figure that he can depend on.

This is also important in the development of Odysseus not only as a mere

person, but also as a father. Telemachos was still young when Odysseus had to

go to war with the Trojans. In the twenty years he was away, he probably learned

how to be a good leader of an army, especially when it’s low on morale. He

probably learned how to cope with the feelings of loneliness he suffered from
Kenneth Nacion September 20, 2010
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being away from his family. He probably learned how to survive in certain

situations when all the odds seemed stacked against him. However, as he was

learning all of these, he had a son growing up at home, and he never learned

how to be a good father to him. In this passage, it can be said that Odysseus, like

Telemachos, is taking up the responsibility of being a good father, and that

includes teaching his son some valuable lessons and being there when his son

needs him, things that he has never been able to do for his son in his entire life.

We all go through that process of having to grow up and taking

responsibility for certain things, no matter how much we hate it. As much as it’s

most of the time disdained, we have to recognize that our lives will simply crash

down into worthlessness if we don’t.

Word Count: 616