The Odyssey Book Vs Movie

I much preferred the movie version to the novel. For me, author William Kennedy’s style of writing is needlessly vague and difficult to follow, yet he did a wonderful job adapting

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

The Odyssey, a historical epic, was the first written of its kind. Since then, many stories’ plots have focused on the characteristics that made it an epic, such as Finding Nemo. Although the Odyssey was written many years ago, Finding Nemo’s qualities are along the same lines. Both stories contain characters on a journey in search of something of significance. Monsters threaten the quest home, helpers assist the heroes on their journeys, the heroes are glorified in the end, and there is a strong relationship between a parent and their child. Some of these are more commonly found or recognized than others.

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.

Throughout the years, many classic stories have been remade into their movie counterparts. Possibly one of the most popular of these adaptations is the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? This movie, which was produced by the Coen brothers, is a modernization on the epic poem The Odyssey. According to The Internet Movie Database, when asked about the movie’s concept, Ethan Coen described The Odyssey as “one of my favorite storyline schemes.”

Many think that the movie version of Book IX in The Odyssey is better than the book. After all, it’s much shorter, we can actually get a visual, and we can just sit back and relax while eating something. We even get a visual of our favorite character! It is true that we can finish the movie in two hours but reading the book would take a long time. However, the book is better than the movie in many ways. It describes things in rich detail, it has received better reviews for over 2000 years, and it is more exciting. In conclusion, and in my opinion, the book is better than the

Sometimes it is incredibly difficult to tell who is the ‘good guy’ in a story. A hero never begins as the perfect man.. There are stories where the adventurer is a thief or a murderer. However, there are also tales about an average man realizing that he is lacking something or recognizing that it is time to leave the nest. In The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins is nothing extraordinary. He is, like most other hobbits, fearful of the unknown. But, with the prodding of Gandalf; Bilbo leaves the Shire and finds his courage. The first definition of a hero in the Merriam Webster dictionary is, “A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.” According to this explanation, Mr. Baggins is not a hero. However, Odysseus, the hero in the epic The Odyssey by Homer, fits the definition to a t.

In the 1997 film representation of “The Odyssey” in which the director had made individual changes from the story from which some settings, characters, and storylines, and events were either removed, changed, or improved by the director from its original state. These revisions had either helped the director shorten the length of the film from what it would’ve been if it had fully included what the book had, but in turn could have removed or changed important events that might have been needed or shown to explain some events, or scenes like when Odysseus and his crew had landed on Helios’s Island, but in the film that was not included causing a huge textual change in the story.

History, or at least the study thereof, as shown by class, is divided into three specific categories: remembered, recovered and invented--each having their own benefits and downfalls. The main purpose of studying history is to gather information about the past; to see the cause and effects of different situations; to see how this information can be applied to our lives, to understand why and how and others think in certain ways; and thus eventually lead to a better appreciation different peoples—one way or another. It is also inprotant to realize that history is not just about ‘what-really-happened-in-the-past’, but is a complex intersection of truth, bias and hopes.

In the movie I feel as if they did a poor job at making things more intense and as interesting as it was in the book. They also did a poor job at pointing out all the creatures in the forest. I believe that this modification was made because the writer wanted to make sure that everyone who reads the book knows exactly what’s going on point by point. This makes things easier to follow when you can know it all. Throughout everything I’ve said about the book having greater narration, I strongly believe that what I’ve said can encourage you to take my side on this

The Odyssey was written by Homer around 1200 B.C, meaning to be a sequel to The Illiad. Homer wrote the very first written literature in Western Europe. Homer was an apotheosis very much like Odysseus. Odysseus was revered as a hero with the Greek Gods presence around.

We were asked to write an 1000 word essay on the comparison between the Iliad and the Odyssey. After reading the stories I’ve come to realize that they have multiple comparisons enough for me to write a life time about. But I’m going to limit myself to only writing about one topic and it the free will vs. predetermination (choice vs. fate). The Iliad and the Odyssey both contain the Trojan War, but only a little bit of it. The Iliad didn’t cover the whole story of the Trojan War but only captured the ninth year of the war. The Odyssey didn’t capture the war only Odysseus journey back home to his family which took 20 years. The Iliad and the Odyssey were both written by the same person the stories both correspond together like a missing piece

Greek historians saw themselves as a part of a long tradition that went back to Homer and Hesiod, and became fully defined by the time of Herodotus and Thucydides. To the Greeks themselves, the concept of their history came down from the epics, and this would shape the tradition from which later Greek historians would draw. Homer’s Trojan War, and the heroes that populated the narrative were considered to be true events and historical figures. The Iliad and The Odyssey, recorded long after the events supposedly occurred, also gave rise to the perception that the past was divided into two parts: a heroic age of the gods and heroes and a post-heroic age of men. Because the age of heroes was defined by the writers of epic and thus considered fixed, in the very early stages of Greek historiography, attempts were made to bridge the gap between the two ages with genealogies, linking Greek families with the heroes of the epics. In a similar fashion, the Myth of the Races in Hesiod’s Works and Days is considered by some scholars to be a proto-historical account, similar to the myth of Prometheus and Pandora, because it is an attempt to create an origin for the human race, whether or not it was believed to be true by the author.

The way dialogue is portrayed differs in the novel. The film has time and background music to elaborate on details. The novel has to keep the audience engaged. Camera angle also help portray this dialogue. Thes camera angles can “add meaning to the subject being filmed” (Desmond Hawkes p.28). In this aspect the characters can get into more detail in the film.

The Greek golden ages shaped western civilization. Greek culture bestowed its richness on the modern world in politics, architecture, and the arts. It is necessary to highlight the literary work of Homer. The Iliad and Odyssey are not just mere ancient stories. The genius of Homer in his works describe the essence of the human being. Even today we can see our own reflection in his lines. In his stories he brings to light the innermost feelings of a person. Humanity is broadcasted along his pages for everyone to see. Possibly if we look close enough one can discover who we are and what it is we do to harm society. This sort of mythological inquiry can change our predisposed nature. Just as, Achilles, and Odysseus were a reflection by these mythical gods we to are reflected in their virtues or their lack of. However, each deity has certain attributes that distinguishes it from the others. These deities influenced ancient Greeks in the way of thinking, feeling, and acting.