Is O Brother, Where Art Thou? the Modern Odyssey?

Thesis Statement: What I hope to do in the following paper is compare the entertaining film, O Brother Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen. Perf. George Clooney, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, John Turturro, Touchstone/Universal, 2000) to the classic epic The Odyssey (Crowell’s Handbook Of Classical Literature, The Odyssey, Lippincott and Crowell Publishers, New York, pgs.268-291, Internet Reviews of the movie). The plots in both selections are very similar even though they occur in two very different time periods. Other similarities that we will explore are the characters and obstacles encountered along the journey.

The film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a Homeric journey through Mississippi during the time of the Depression of the 1930’s. This film takes the viewer on the journey of three prisoners who have escaped from jail in the opening scene. The main character Ulysses Everett is looking to reunite with his wife, Penny and their three daughters and assume his position as man of the house. He desperately tries to reach his wife before she remarries. Ulysses would like ideally to go on his journey alone, however due to the fact that he was in a chain gang, he is chained to two other cellmates. He enlists them in his cause by

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In the end he is reunited with his family and has talks of getting back together. We meet a similar character in O Brother Where Art Thou? The loud mouth character Big Dan Teague, gives the travelers a personal demonstration of his crookedness. Odysseus defeats the son of Poseidon as he blinds him and sails away in his glory. Character names are changed but still are made obvious for us to connect. Penelope is the wife of Odysseus who has remained patient and loyal to him throughout his battle and subsequent return home. A high school english class could really go far with a lesson on comparing the two plots, characters and events in both works.

If we look at the characters in both pieces, we can identify some connections between them.

The movie’s plot resembles The Odyssey: A man is journeying home to his wife and family, hoping he can reach her before his wife gets remarried. Along his journey, Odysseus meets up with various gods and goddess that either help him to move on or cause him more setbacks. Similarly, in The Odyssey when Odysseus’ ship approaches the Island of the Sirens, he had to cork his men’s ears so they would not become tempted by the sound of the sirens. The Odyssey is a story that depicts his adventures during the additional ten years it takes him to venture home.

When comparing the plots of O Brother Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey, one can see many similarities. Odysseus, is a word known to Roman authors as ULIXES (Ulysses). We see characters recreated in the film to mimic those in the poem.

Approximate Word count = 1086
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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