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O Brother Where Art And Odysseus Comparison

Decent Essays

I have seen O Brother, Where Art Though? a few times since it was released. I have always found it humorous and enjoyed the movie. Watching it after reading the Odyssey brought new meaning to the film for me. I found the movie to be much smarter than I previously recognized. The parallel story structure with the Odyssey had me waiting for the next metaphor.
From the prophecy, the journey, the trials and adventures along the way to the reunion the movie and book followed a mans return to his home and family.
When the three men in the movie Everett, Pete and Delmar escape from prison they run into a man on a railroad cart. The man is blind and states a prophecy to the three men, he tells them they will be taking a voyage and there will be obstacles and suffering along their way. He also tells them they need to restrain themselves while they travel. This seems …show more content…

There is a fistfight with the suitor in the movie and the book. When he sees his wife, she keeps claiming that he died and that he is not her husband but a drifter. He dresses up in a disguise at the concert hall to get close and talk to her, she does not acknowledge that he is her husband until the disguise is off, the suitor has been discredited and the crowd has accepted him. This was very in tune with Odysseus’s return to Penelope and his taking a disguise and then her not recognizing him.
Some of the similarities were more overt and were thrown into the movie at will. The candidate opposing the governor for reelection was named Homer and there were posters with his name in the movie. At one point one of the characters talks about the braintrust being the power behind the throne, to me this seemed a reference to the gods. They pray often to god for forgiveness, thinking this will help with their misfortune. The sheriff also tells them that the law is a human institution another reference that the gods are really in

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