Authority Of Telemachus In The Odyssey

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The growth of Telemachus is evident in his gaining of authority over the suitors while his father Odysseus is in his long journey toward home to Ithaca. With Odysseus gone, someone must take his place in the meantime in order to have some control over the chaos surrounding his home, a chaos that centers on Odysseus' wife who must decide whether to remarry or hold onto the hope that her husband is still alive, and who better to do so than his son Telemachus. However, as Alex Gottesman writes in his paper "The Authority of Telemachus," it is not an easy task for young Telemachus. He himself must go through a small journey filled with opposition from the suitors in order to gain the authority that he needs to overcome them. Gottesman's work, "The …show more content…
The subheadings used in his paper are as follows: "Politics in/of the Odyssey," "Who Will (Make) Penelope Wed?" "Getting There and Back," "The Trick with the Beggar," and "Conclusion." Based on these subheadings, the reader can gather an idea on what each of the paragraphs will focus on before even reading the paragraph, therefore adding importance to the choosing of strong subtitles that the writer knows will correctly summarize what his paragraphs will be about. The subheadings chosen by Gottesman for his paper show where each of the three "grammar of authority" points mainly fall into: "Who Will (Make) Penelope Wed?" focuses on marriage, "Getting There and Back" focuses on transportation, and "The Trick with the Beggar" focuses on hospitality. The use of subheadings by the writer also allows the reader to quickly skim through his paper, if they choose to, and come to the main points they want to read about without getting lost in the flow of detailed information he presents to his

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