Rather than begin with a familiar character such as Odysseus, The Odyssey starts off with his son Telamachos.
In the first few books of The Odyssey, everyone wants a slice of the Odysseus pie but Telamachos. His mother constantly grieves Odysseus' loss, obsessed over whether he is dead or alive, while the suitors courting her are interested in their estate. Telamachos barely remembers Odysseus as he left ten years ago. Telamachos feels so disconnected from Odysseus that when asked whether he is his son, he replies: "My mother says I am his son; I know not surely" (8). Telamachos is only curious about the condition of his father as long as it worries his mother and means that suitors freeload in his house. Telamachos has inherited a major problem in which he personally has no emotional stake.
On top of the pressure of his mother and the suitors, Telamachos must strive toward the ideal of Orestes. Nestor tells Telamachos the story of how Agamenmon's son nobly "killed the snake who killed his father" (44); he then generally advises Telamachos to do right by his father in a similar way.
One might think these forces bring Telamachos down, making him simply the unlucky shadow of his father. But Telamachos is his own person, with his own desires and sadness. Internally, Telamachos has always wanted to have a father in his life. Having a reputable, glorious, wealthy father has not sufficed. Telamachos says: "I wish at least I had some happy man as father, growing old in his own house - but unknown death and silence of him that .... they call my father" (8). We will have to read further in order to see how Telamachos' internal conflicts play out and whether the many high expectations of him are met.
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