The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his journey, both literal and figurative, to Ithaca. When the great king Odysseus travels to Troy because of the war, many obstacles prevent him from returning home. During his absence, the deprivation of being a father to his son Telemachus causes great disappointment. Without a father, his son struggles to grow and mature but has no idea where to go. However, as Telemachus struggles to reach adulthood and his father struggles to return to Ithaca, their seemingly separate journeys are connected. They both learn values ​​that turn a boy into a man and a great man even greater. In the epic poem the Odyssey, Homer uses parallel rites of passage with Odysseus and Telemachus to develop the importance of the father-son bond. At the beginning of both their stories, Odysseus and Telemachus learn to practice strong will when starting their journeys. Even as Telemachus reaches the prime of his childhood, the people around him torment him into believing that he remains a boy. In the Odyssey, the gods are believed to control vast things such as fate or choose to meddle in the lives of mortals. One of these goddesses, Athena, wishes to aid both Odysseus and Telemachus in their travels. In disguise, he gives Telemachus the inspiration to begin the steps towards adulthood by saying, “you will never be faint-hearted or foolish, / Telemachus, if you have the spirit of your father; /he finished what he wanted to say” (Homer 27). With this begins the struggle to find his father by immediately calling an assembly and challenging the men around him who thought he was incompetent. Meanwhile, Ulysses has already faced trials that test his resolve. He avoids the many temptations of the immortals on... middle of paper... many of the insolent suitors of his house. Odysseus' anger is matched only by Telemachus, whose restraint is raised with force to thwart his new mature instinct to defend his father. Meanwhile, Odysseus is forced to couple this with control over holding his love, Penelope, in his arms. However, both characters manage to avoid obstacles and ultimately fight side by side against their enemies. The father and son relationship between Odysseus and Telemachus allows their progress in maturity to be linked. It creates an intangible journey that, although separated by distance, could be shared. Therefore, when the journey they share becomes tangible, “a boy who daydreams” (5), can become the “true son of King Odysseus (301). Works Cited Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998. Print.