O Brother Wheres Odysseus

Emma King Ms. Southall Advanced English 9 30 April 2009 Title Long, long ago there lived a great poet name Homer. He wrote the epic The Odyssey. Many millennia later, the Coenbrothers tapped into the same genius as Homer. They directed the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? whichwas based on Homer’s epic poem. Numerous elements found in the movie and book aresimilar. Even so, there are equally as many that are different. The Odysseyis the tragic tale of one man who was kept from his homeland for two decades. As he makes his way to his home, Ithaca, he is faced with much hardship and suffering. This man is Odysseus. O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the story of three men who are laboring at a prison camp in rural Southern America. They try to create better lives for themselves but meet trials and tribulations on the way. These three men are Ulysses Everett McGill, Pete and Delmar. Many characters are similar in Homer’s epic and the Coen brothers’ film, such as, the Cyclops, the prophet Tiresias, and the suitors. Big, hungry, evil, and one-eyed. All of these can describe both Homer’s character Polyphemus, a cyclops, and the character of Big Dan Teague in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Big Dan is a nefarious bible

salesmen that the main characters meet at a hotel diner. Just like the cyclops, Big Dan has a huge appetite. An example of this is when he convinces Everett and Delmar to take him out into the country for a picnic, after which, he robs them. While there he says this, “Thank you

boys for throwin' in that fricassee. I'm a man of large appetite, and even with lunch under my belt, I was feelin' a mite peckish.” The cyclops Polyphemus was “mighty peckish” in The Odysseyas well. In fact he ate 6 of Odysseus’ men. In The Odyssey Polyphemuswas blinded with a sharp, heated rod. Big Dan was nearly blinded with the pointed end of a confederate flag and was killed by a burning cross while taking part in a KKK lynch mob. Big Dan also had and eyepatch which gave him the appearance of having only one eye, just like the cyclops. Another blind character found in both is the prophet Tiresias. After Everett, Pete and Delmar make their escapefrom the chain gang they find a railroad line. Failing to jump aboard a boxcar, they meet a blind man pushing a handcar. This man tells them how they will find a fortune but not the one they are looking for. At the time they do not understand the blind seer’s prevision but soon after they realized the truth in his words. In The Odyssey Odysseus and his men travel to the underworld seeking Tiresias. The prophet tells Odysseus what will happen on his journey home and the troubles he will have. Both prophecies have something to do with cattle. The blind seer in O Brother, Where Art Thou tells the men that they will travel a perilous

road fraught with danger anddiscord. Their voyage will reach its close when they see a cow on the roof of a cottonhouse. Tiresias, the prophet in The Odyssey, tells Odysseus and his men that most importantly the cattle of the Sun are to be left alone. Odysseus and Everett realize the truth in the prophesies. While doing so they come across other troubles. One such trouble was Mr. Vernon T. Waldrip. Mr. Waldrip planned on marrying Everett’s wife, just like the suitors in The Odyssey. In O Brother, Where Art Thou? Everett’s wife was disloyal to him and planned on marrying Vernon T. Waldrip. Unlike Everett, Vernonwas "bona fide." Odysseus' wife Penelope was very faithful to him, even tricking the suitors to keep from marrying them. Penelope lasted for twenty years, waiting for Odysseus to return. Everett's wife Penny lasted maybe a year or two. In The Odyssey there were nearly a hundred suitors while in O Brother, Where Art Thou? there was only one, Mr. Waldrip.