If we were to imagine that only books one through six had come to us, and we had no other source of the end, Telemachus would be the protagonist in this situation. In book one, Athena disguises herself as Mentes, who is a family friend of Odysseus' while also the ruler of the Taphians. She goes to tell Telemachus to care for his mother, and remove the suitors from their home. She even goes to remind him that he is being a child by not removing these suitors from the home, “…think up some way to kill the suitors in your house either openly or by setting a trap. You’ve got to stop acting like a child. You’ve outgrown that now.” (Homer 312-314). Since it is truly Athena who has told him to remove the men, this is almost a responsibility for him sent by the Gods. He has a duty of protecting his mother while his father is out at sea somewhere, or even if he is dead. If Odysseys had died, then he will have a funeral, and his wife will be remarried the proper way, …show more content…
He speaks of how he wants to know how his father is doing, and whether he will come home or not. The gods do not say if he is to come home or not, and they mention that Odysseus death has been devised, but has yet to happen (267). It is revealed that Athena does take a special liking for Odysseys and will help guide him home back to his wife and family. Nestor also tells Telemachus to not stay away from his home for too long because the suitors are at his home and have unchaperoned access to his mother without his protection (348-350). This gives Telemachus more drive to rid of the suitors since there is a chance that his father could be home one day, and he must be able to leave his mother unattended without them trying to get to her. If he were to not protect her, and she got stuck with one of the suitors, he would not be doing the job of protecting her while Odysseus is