Like Father, Like Son: The Evolution Of A Family Tie Throughout the last few books of the Odyssey, Homer explains to the reader how Odysseus reestablishes his relationships with his family and friends of Ithaka. It’s possible the restoration of his relationship with his son, Telemachus, is the most significant event of all. This reconnection carries out three main purposes. First, it serves to characterize Telemachus' likeness to his father in the virtues of wisdom, humility, patience, and organization. Secondly, it enables Odysseus a chance to coach Telemachus on how to be a powerful ruler like he is. Lastly, Homer uses the reconnection to highlight the importance of a healthy family structure to a society. To be able to understand
At this time Homer uses a simile to describe the increased effusive emotions of the situation, Homer says that Telemachus and Odysseus embrace one another and cry out in the same way baby birds cry when they are separated from their parents. Likewise war had deprived Odysseus of his son. Odysseus and Telemachus now focus on the task at hand: killing the suitors. Although Telemachus has been told of his father's great deeds all his life, he still doesn't believe that it is possible to defeat so many suitors. But Odysseus tells him by saying that the gods are in their favor. We see here how Odysseus has become a religous man and trusts the gods, and trusting the gods is a display of maturity. Odysseus lays out the plans and suggests going around and testing all his field hands and house servants for trustworthiness before taking back their house, but Telemachus shows wisdom in proposing an adjustment to the plan: kill the suitors quickly because they are spending all of their resources. This adjustment is accepted when Odysseus tells Telemachus he is almost as good as planning as himself. thereby Odysseus' relationship with his son is rebuilt and Odysseus is able to watch over Telemachus' further education guaranteeing that he will one day be a good successor.

Finally we come to the last purpose of the re-encounter. Homer realizes that an durable family is of great importance to a society since it is through family that values and