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 telling them of hidden treasure. Included along their seriocomic adventure they experience brushes with bluesmen, bigots, gangsters, crooked politicians, and seductive lady charmers. In the end, Ulysses is happily united with his wife, making his treacherous journey worth the battle.
             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. We see characters recreated in the film to mimic those in the poem. Character names are changed but still are made obvious for us to connect. Finally, events throughout the movie such as the encountering with the "washer woman" ask the viewer to make yet anothe
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