Similarities Between The Odyssey And O Brother Where Art Thou

Our English Class, after reading an excerpt from The Odyssey, watched O Brother Where Art Thou. I enjoyed both, but realized they weren’t the same. I discovered that being similar to The Odyssey, it had many similarities. But they also had many differences because the movie was loosely based on the book. These are a few similarities and differences that I

O’brother Where Art Thou has strong allusion with the minor characters of the Odyssey. For example, in the movie, Everett and his men meet a blind traveler who tells them about their journey ahead. This shows a strong allusion to The Odyssey as Odysseus and his men meet a blind foreteller named Tiresias. Tiresias tells them about the different issues occurring at home and how to reach Ithaca. Another example is that, in the movie

“The Odysseus” and in the movie “O Brother,Where Art Thou” are both similar even though they are in different time periods. The main thing that connects these two literary works is how Odysseus and his crew travel through uncertain obstacles to make it back home to their homeland as in the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou” we see the comparison as Ulysses escapes from jail and travels with his two prison buddies, Peres and pete as they journey to the secret stash that we letter see isn’t real.

Many people might not have realized but in the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” there are connections not only with actual events that have occurred in the 1930’s, but also with Homer 's "Odyssey". From similarities in characters and storyline in the Odyssey to the life during the Great Depression, are all included and demonstrated. However, just like similarities, there are also inaccuracies that are not exactly the same between the movie, story, and the actual events of the Great Depression. For example, the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou" was based on a greek myth called "Odyssey" by Homer. Also, the movie is based only from the perspective of 3 men escaping their sentence, not from the perspective of all the different races who had different opportunities and advantages compared to others.

The similarities between the two stories are quite extensive, so I will only focus on a few. There are similarities not only in the plot and the journey’s the characters take on and are involved in, but both are packed with metaphors. In both stories, the main characters are following the strong theme of nostos. Odysseus is battling gods, monsters, he even goes and visits Hades to help him return home to his family. McGill convinces two people to escape out of a jail so that he can return to his wife and daughters. Both stories begin with our “heroes” in custody when they are first shown. Odysseus is on an island with Calypso, and the three in O Brother are in jail. Both escape custody,

Book to movie adaptations have been an increasingly popular style of film. Many believe that the integrity of book to movie adaptations are lost when films are not exact replicas of the book. However, adaptations are a form of interpretation that involve some means of redesigning and reconstruction to convert them into a different art form. In this paper I will argue the reasons why I agree with the claim that O, Brother Where Art Thou is based on the epic The Odyssey.

After twenty long years away from his family, Odysseus still has motivation to return to Ithaca. Odysseus could have stayed with the princess of the Phaeacians, but instead he wants to go home to his family. Odysseus’ wife, Penelope and their son, Telemachus motivate Odysseus. Alkinoos offers Odysseus his daughter’s hand in marriage: “My daughter should be yours and you my son-in-law, if you remained. A home, lands, riches you should have from me if you could be content here” (Homer 120). Odysseus refuses the king’s offer: “O Father Zeus, let all this be fulfilled as spoken by Alkinoos! Earth of harvests remember him! Return me to my homeland” (120). Odysseus knows that his family has been waiting for him for years. The motivation to see his family and homeland help Odysseus win his battles and continue his journey home.

The movie ìO Brother, Where Art Thou?î is strikingly similar to Homerís ìOdysseyî in both plot and character description. In fact, one critic notes, ìO Brother Where Art Thou?î is a Homeric journey through Mississippi during the Depression.î(Ebert p 1) Thus, we find the modern film depiction of the troubles of a man during the depression is molded by the ancient struggles of Odysseus in Homerís Odyssey. Specifically, three parallels surface in the discussion of the similarities between Homerís classic epic and ìO Brother Where Art Thou?î The Cyclops encounter for instance, is transcendent between both works. Furthermore, each story contains a comparable perspective of the Lotus Eaters. Finally, the strongest parallel between the

“The Odyssey” and “O Brother Where Art Thou” Compares because of the characters, their adventures, and obstacles. At the beginning of the movie, Everett, Pete, and Delmar escape from prison. In “The Odyssey” Odysseus and his men escape from multiple monsters and people. After Everett, Pete and Delmar escape they come upon a blind railroad conductor who tells them their future. This also happens to Odysseus and his men, they meet Tiresias and he tells them their future for their adventure in the land of the dead.

O Brother Where Art Thou is most definitely similar to The Odyssey, displaying similar scenarios and characters throughout both the film and the book. While it is not identical, there are many common themes found in The Odyssey that are also found in O Brother Where Art Thou, creating a cinematic experience that accurately depicts the original tale.

Even though the Odyssey was created in the 8th century, there are many other movies and books with similar template and similar events to the Odyssey. For example, “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” is a movie that has almost the exact same characters, events, and template as the Odyssey.

“Tell me, o muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy”(11). This quote not only begins the novel The Odyssey by Homer, but also the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou. This is only one of the many similarities between these two pieces. The Odyssey is about the great war hero Odysseus’ twenty year troublesome attempt to reach his home. His long, painful journey to reach home after the ten year Trojan War is endured through temptations, peril, and literally hell. Odysseus’ story is very similar, yet very different to that of Ulysses Everett McGill in O Brother Where Art Thou. Ulysses is an escapee from prison and is on a mission to reach home to prevent his wife from

The video clip and original text have many differences. In Homer’s text Odysseus and his crew were in a boat but, in “O Brother Where Art Thou?”, the men were in a car. In The Odyssey sirens transformed the man into a “horny toad”; however, in the video the sirens are cannibals. Odysseus and his crew go to the sirens in the video clip yet, in the original text the men are trying to get away from the sirens. As well as differences, the text also have similarities.

to The Odyssey was the Sirens. They were depicted in O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? just as they were in the Odyssey. They were singing the same irresistible tunes, and had the same irresistible looks that lured the three men into the trap. The Sirens ended up turning in Pete for a bounty, but that is not what Delmar

Oh Brother Where Art Thou was an interesting, entertaining comparison to the epic poem The Odyssey. Although both stories provide many comparisons, between the main objective of both stories, for the main character to get back to his family in his hometown and overall plot comparisons, both stories contrasted each other in a multitude of ways. Both stories are similar in many different ways. In both stories, the main characters both are on the same essential mission throughout the story; to make it home to his wife and child(ren).