In the Greek epic, “The Odyssey”, Odysseus encounters many monsters and other obstacles on his trip home to Ithaca. “O Brother, Where Art Thou” is a modern day twist on Odysseus’ trip home. Ulysses Everett McGill, or Everett, escapes prison to return home to his “treasure”. Both Everett and Odysseus encounter the same obstacles, like the cyclops, Lotus eaters, and Sirens.
The cyclops encounter is represented in both the movie and the epic. The cyclops is represented in the movie by Big Dan Teague, the bible seller, and has an obvious connection because of his eyepatch and large size. In the Epic, the cyclops is described as, a prodigious man and knowing none but savage ways. “...but in one stride he clutched at my companions and caught two on his hands like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering the floor.”(p1050) Big Dan also can be connected to this quote because he beat Everett and Delmer and then stole their wallets. Both Everett and Odysseus are taken from a state of wellness and then beaten savagely. “We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and took some cheese to e...
“The Odyssey” is an epic written by Homer between 750 and 650 B.C. It is the tale of the main hero’s, Odysseus’s, journey home to Ithaca from Troy. It takes place after the Trojan War and is the sequel to “The Iliad.” Odysseus and his men set sail from Troy and come across the lair of the lotus eaters. After escaping, they run into the cyclops,
“O muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story...Of that man skilled in all the ways of contending...A wanderer, harried for years on end…” (Homer). These are the opening words of The Odyssey. This is also in the opening scene of O Brother Where Art Thou?. O Brother is a reception of the revered story of Odysseus’ journey with a bit of a twist. The works have similarities that only a person well informed of the Odyssey could see. The Odyssey and O Brother highlight the trials of the main character’s journeys. While the Odyssey was written in the eighth century, O Brother is set during the 1930s in the deep south. Each of the trials that the characters face is supposed to make them quit their journey, but they proceed with greater determination.
god, man vs. man, or man vs. himself. The main conflict in the Odyssey and O brother is between man vs. god. Odysseus and Everett anger the gods and in return they get their revenge on them until they ask for forgiveness. Unfortunetly, the characters do not want to admit that they were the ones who were wrong which ends up creating a dispute between them. Another conflict that occurs is man vs. man. Odysseus vs. his crew and Everett vs. Peter and Delmar is a good resemblence of this type of conflict. Everett and Odysseus’s men are always following their leader, but they what they don’t know is that their leaders are betraying them. Everett does not tell Peter and Delmar that there is no treasure. Odysseus was informed about his crew dying during his journey back to Ithaca, but chose not to inform them about it. Also both of the main character’s followers are in trouble because of what their leader have done.The last conflict that can be identified in both the Odyssey and O brother is man vs. himself. Odysseus and Everett have a constant dispute with themselves throughout the story. Both protagonist cannot find any other way of returning to their loved ones other than apologizing to the gods. Both characters debate whether they should ask for forgiveness in order to end this
Ulysses Everett McGill from “O Brother Where Art Thou” is a man of action whereas Odysseus from “The Odyssey” is a man of morality. Judging primarily on these statements, whom appears to be a man that one should follow? Many are attempting to justify how can two such great leaders be compared to one another? Everett is a worthy representation of Odysseus because of their similar attributes such as boasting and dishonesty. Yet at times both can be braver than any other, sharing not only attributes, but also similar backgrounds as well.
Odysseus approaches his homeland differently; thus coming to a different fate. When Odysseus lands on Ithaca, he is aware of the possibility of danger, which makes him skeptical and cautious. His attitude is a result of the things he had encountered on his journey, like monsters and Agamemnon’s ghost. The monsters, such as Polyphemus and the Laestrygonians, surprise Odysseus when they eat his men instead of being good hosts. Agamemnon’s ghost influences Odysseus’s mindset by informing him of his own unfortunate end....
As former first lady Michelle Obama once said “You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it's important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages,” (Michelle Obama). Odysseus faced much adversity in his journey back from troy and in his home life back on Ithaca. The Odyssey is an epic poem created by Homer that highlights Odysseus's journey from Troy to Ithaca. “Ulysses” is a poem by Lord Tennyson Alfred about Odysseus's thoughts after he returns to Ithaca from Troy. Homer and Tennyson both use figurative language when speaking of Odysseus’ travels, and his thoughts when he get back home. People undertake journeys to immerse themselves in the
The Odyssey is a tale that has changed literature and storytelling. In this tale Odysseus is a Soldier from the battle of Troy trying to get home to his island of Ithaca, where he is king. His wife and son must wait ten years while he is trying to make his way home. In Odysseus’s absence wooer’s, or better known as suitors, learn of his absence and travel to Ithaca to win his wife’s hand in marriage. These men come every day feasting on Odysseus’s food and wine, and give his servant’s orders. His son Telemachus, does his best to keep the suitors from ruining his fathers house but he is only a boy, and doesn’t receive the respect of an adult. Telemachus then has a visit from the god Athena, whom Odysseus is friends with, who advises him to travel to find out about his father. In his travels he hears that Odysseus may still be alive. Meanwhile Odysseus goes through a series of adventures and hardships that prove his wisdom. It is interesting in contrast of the Iliad, even though Achilles was much stronger and a better warrior, Odysseus was portrayed as a greater hero due to his wisdom. He uses this wisdom to escape from the Cyclops.
Odysseus (Ulysses in Roman) was one of the great Pan-Hellenic heroes of Greek mythology. Famous for his courage, intelligence and leadership he was most recognized through his resourcefulness and oratory skills. Throughout classical literature and through many authors Odysseus’ characteristics have changed as much as the stories that surround him. The epic and tragedy I will focus on in particular is The Odyssey by Homer and Hecuba by Euripides. The defining characteristics of Odysseus ranges widely as is shown in Homer’s The Odyssey and Euripides’s Hecuba. The figure of Odysseus in homers The Odyssey is the antithesis of the Odysseus in Euripides Hecuba due to their historical contexts and respective audiences.
Both authors show, in instances, the two protagonists of each story dependent upon and governed by others who they encounter. This creates an inadvertent or unwanted loss of identity due to the absence of home. Odysseus finds himself lost at sea while he tries to return to Ithaca. Even as he tries to return to civilian life, he is still influenced by his experiences as a soldier in the Trojan War. In this state, he causes undue harm to others he encounters through unnecessary violence that further deters him from making his homecoming.
I will analyze the similarities between “O Brother Where Are Tho” and the “Odyssey”. In “Odyssey”, Odysseus leaves his home and family for an epic battle in Troy. He spends a decade later trying to return home, battling various evils so that he may eventually be able to return home. In absence, his wife Penelope has resisted the local suitor’s attempts to win her hand in marriage.
Seeing the comparable differences and similarities throughout both storylines, facing adversity is a common theme that is shown through the limelight to touch readers and pull in an audience using symbolism. The difficult times during Odysseus journey he fought monsters to reach his destination. Ulysses, on the other hand, breaks free from imprisonment and flees to get to his family after facing adversity many times, he made his way home. The Odyssey and O Brother Where Art thou are important to study today and readers can learn valuable lessons, one being overcoming
Homer’s The Odyssey is a Greek story that follows the journey of its primary character, Odysseus, back to his home in Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus encounters many challenges in his journey home, from encounters with Polyphemus the Cyclops, the witch Circe and even the ghosts of dead Greeks. Meanwhile, his household in Ithaca is being threatened by suitors of his wife, Penelope, all wanting to inherit Odysseus’ possessions in the belief that he was already dead. Like many epic heroes, Odysseus possesses many admirable qualities. Three good characteristics of Odysseus are—cleverness, bravery and strength—here are some supporting instances from the epic that demonstrates Odysseus possession of such characteristics.
O Brother, Where Art Thou, a film written and directed by the Coen brothers, is a modern day interpretation of Homer’s ancient epic the Odyssey. The opening credits of the movie quote the invocation of the Muse from the first lines of the epic: “Oh Muse sing in me, and through me tell the story of the man skilled in all the ways of contending, A wanderer, harried for years on end”. The film follows Ulysses Everett McGill (portrayed by George Clooney), a depression era Odysseus, and his men Delmar O’Donnell (Tim Nelson), and Pete Hogwallop (John Turturro). The three men are escaped convicts, running from the law through the Deep South in an effort to reach home and split a (truly non-existent) treasure. The leader of their group, Ulysses Everett McGill (from here on referred to as Everett), is a smooth talking self-professed lawyer with extreme egotistical issues. Pride is a theme in both the movie as well as the original epic. In both the Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou his pride is the source of many dilemmas. The visual symbol of this pride throughout the movie is Everett’s Dapper Dan pomade.
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 ends up being quite the opposite. The two stories are so remarkably alike that it is almost staggering. However, it may not just be simple similarities that make the two so alike. The main reasons why the two characters are so alike are not so much the actions that they take, as oppose to the overall human emotional aspect of the two pieces of work. For example, we see that both Odysseus and Ulysses are invested in their lives with their families, and as such, they never have a moment where they stop thinking about the lives they used to live. Both characters are extremely alike in terms of thoughts, skills, and experiences. They are both profound tacticians, as well as being rather strong and good looking men. So in the end, both of these men have plenty in common on the emotional and psychological levels.
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.