O Brother Where Art Thou In Homer's The Odyssey

Most people have fixed concept that modern day films and Medieval Greek Epic poems differ a lot as if they are black and white, but the film O Brother, Where Art Thou and the story of The Odyssey are both parallel and perpendicular. O Brother, Where Art Thou and The Odyssey portray their story on the same path, yet on the branched path.

The Odyssey by Homer is a Greek epic poem based on its main character Odysseus and it took place in the classical Greece. The book was composed in the eight century B.C.E, after the events it describes, and narrates several adventures with the objective of its main character to return home with his family. Moreover, the movie O, Brother Where Art Thou was published in the year 2000 and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. The movie also narrates the adventures of its main character Ulysses, interpreted by George Clooney, a prisoner that escaped from jail with two partners. Consequently, the film and the movie have its similarities and differences, but at the end the movie was absolutely based on the book.

The Cyclops, in The Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou has noticeable relations that connect them both. The Cyclops in each story is a large man, who only has one eye. One website describes the Cyclopes race as, “a rough and uncivilized race of one-eyed giants.”(Hainsworth) Odysseus describes the giant as, “A prodigious man who slept in his cave alone, and took his flocks to graze afield, remote from all companions, knowing none but savage ways, a brute so huge.”(The Odyssey, Book 9, Lines 195-201)The Cyclops in each story characterizes similiarity between the two stories. Odysseus, the main character of The Odyssey and Ulysses, the main character of O Brother, Where Art Thou have unpleasant interactions with the Cyclops in each of the stories. Big Dan Teague, the con man, characterizes the “Cyclops” in O Brother, Where Art Thou by raising havoc in Ulysses and his partners’ lives. In each story an attempt to blind the creature offers a distraction for each character to escape from the Cyclops. The Coen

In the winter of 2001, American audiences initially paid little attention to Joel and Ethan Coen's Depression era, jail-break, musical "buddy" comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou? The film's reputation lingered, however, and over the next seven months O Brother eventually grossed a significant $45.5 million (imdb.com). Loosely adapted from Homer’s The Odyssey, the film focuses on Ulysses Everett McGill’s (George Clooney’s) journey from the jailhouse back to both his home in Ithaca, Mississippi, and to his wife Penny (Holly Hunter). Along with his two sidekicks, Delmar and Pete (Tim Blake Nelson and John Turturro), Ulysses encounters not only characters from the

A hero isn’t shaped by his strengths but by the values he possesses. Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, reveals the moral and ethical constitution of the ancient Greeks. Over time, certain cultures have grown to value a number of human characteristics. Those who acquire such values become respected heroes. After the fall of Troy, the protagonist of the epic, Odysseus, set sail for his home, Ithaca, where his faithful wife and son were waiting for him. Over the course of his journey, Odysseus faced some of the most ferocious opponents known to the Greeks. Even through this formidable journey, Odysseus and his family have stayed true to the diverse aspects of the ancient Greeks. The Odyssey exemplifies the human ideals of hospitality, loyalty and

In both Homer’s The Odyssey and the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? the audience is given an opportunity to experience a spectacular adventure, filled with not only the sense of journey, but also the senses of peril and excitement. A tale about a Greek hero being compared to a film set in Middle America starring three jail-escapees seems rather far-fetched. However, upon closer inspection, both actually share a lot in common. The Odyssey stars Odysseus, a man famous for his heroics in the Trojan War. O Brother, Where Art Thou? shows a bit of a contrast by starring Ulysses, a former convict who escaped and began looking for “A Treasure”. So by default, one would assume that that these two stories would be completely different. However, it

Wit is a characteristic few possess in the land of Ithaca. Yet in “The Odyssey,” the strong leader, Odysseus, portrays this characteristic with the help of Athena, the god of war. After a 10- year war with the Trojans, Odysseus spent the next 10 years struggling to get home. Although Odysseus arrived home, he used his wit to overcome many obstacles such as mythical creatures and his own men. Homer tells how Odysseus is a good leader through his wit and intelligence; in

The movie, O’ Brother, Where Art Thou, is an old-timey film based on Homer’s The Odyssey. The plot and characters are all loosely drawn from the ancient Greek myth, but is set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. The result is an original film filled with adventure, interesting characters, and side-splitting comedy. The George Clooney stars as the main character, Ulysses Everett McGill, with his two man crew, Pete and Delmar, as they trek across Mississippi in search of “treasure” and encounter many of the same trials and troubles that are told about in the myth of Odysseus.

Many of the challenges Odysseus faces in Homer’s epic were modernized in the film adaptation. One of the first trying scenarios that Odysseus and his crew face is their encounter with the Lotus-Eaters. This episode is made modern in O Brother, Where Art Thou? by replacing the relaxed, apathetic flower-eating race with an entranced congregation walking to the river to be baptized. These groups are similar in that they

Odysseus (The Odyssey) and Everett (O’ Brother Where Art Thou) both were faced with conflicts that kept them from being with their families. Odysseus had just finished fighting in the Trojan War, and as years went on he had to overcome many challenges before actually returning back to his home in Ithaca. Unfortunately, he returned only to find his wife, Penelope, hosting a contest for suitors in her hand in marriage. Everett had convinced Delmer and Pete to break out of prison with him so they could go retrieve the “treasure” from a cabin he had hid the money in. Similarly to Odysseus, in reality he only wanted to escape to make sure his ex-wife, Penny, didn’t remarry anyone else besides

Nelson shoots cattle with his gun, and eventually the police find the car and all of the stolen money gets re-stolen. Odysseus is warned of the island of the Sirens, they have an ability to sing a man to his doom. Ulysses is driving down the road when Delmer sees three beautiful women singing and bathing in the river, they stop the car and soon find themselves being seduced. Ulysses awakes to find Delmer missing. Pete thinks that Delmer has been turned into a frog. The idea of humans being turned into animals appears in the Odyssey as well, Odysseus has several of his men turned into pigs on Circe's island. In the book, Odysseus battles a great cyclops, he eventually beats it when he creates a large spear by burning a log in the fire, he takes the spear and stabs the beast in it's eye. Ulysses meets a large man that also only has one eye. The man is vulgar and has an appetite similar to the cyclops. This cyclops is also almost speared in the eye by a flag but he catches it, however he is crushed by a burning cross. Ulysses gets a tip in the movies from the re-jailed Delmer. Delmer warns him not to go after the treasure. This represents the part in the book where Odysseus is on the island of the dead, one of his former crew warns him of the dangers to come. When Odysseus reaches his home, he takes a disguise as an old man, soon after he performs the talent of stringing his bow and wins his wife back. Ulysses also takes a disguise

Odysseus is the genius tactician whom Everett is modeled after. In the movie O’ Brother Where Art Thou, Everett is extremely similar to Odysseus. Everett is comparably much smarter than those around him, like Odysseus, and believes in his own power. He is also surrounded by people who want to betray him or hurt him, and uses similar methods of not being caught. Also, they both fully believe they are better than and don't need others. Everett and Odysseus also both only want to get back to their wives while they still hold slight concern for their companions. Everett in the movie O’ Brother Where Art Thou is made to be like Odysseus because they are both intelligent, narcissistic and have the same goal.

The Opening Sequence of the Coen Brothers' Movie O brother Where art Thou? 'O brother where art thou?' has a unique storyline based on Homer's classic tale of 'The Odyssey', which is one story made up of short 'chapters', each relating a different adventure. In this story Ulysses, (who Everett McGill is based on) and his companions (who are the two men, Delmar and Pete, chained to Everett) are trying to get back home, however they anger the Gods and their journey is lengthened.

They are arrogant, yet sometimes uncertain, they are cunning, but still find themselves weak at times. This is very evident throughout the whole story, where both characters are very independent of others, especially when it comes to the help of the god(s). Odysseus’ audacity towards the gods causes quite a delay in his journey home, in particular because of his hostility towards Poseidon. On the other hand, Ulysses himself is not a very religious man. He cannot be lured into foolish tricks along with his friends. However, when push comes to shove, both characters realise where they stand and what needs to be done. They need to swallow their pride and put their egos behind them, and finally acknowledge the fact that they will need to seek help from the higher powers in order to reach their goal of arriving home sooner rather than later.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is based off of Homer’s The Odyssey. After breaking out of jail, Everett, Pete, and Delmar make their way to Everett’s hometown where a treasure has been buried. They have