Compare And Contrast Oh Brother Where Art Thou

If the Coen brothers intended their movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? to be an accurate retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, they certainly succeeded in some aspects, however not completely. Through the use of secondary characters, ambitious encounters, and determined heroes, readers and viewers are able to recognize the similar plots, while also noticing slight adaptations in the modern remake. Both Odysseus’ and Everett’s family, friends, and comrades play a major role in their journies. Ulysses and Odysseus both have children, of which both of them haven’t seen in many years. In Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Ulysses has seven girls, who like Telemachus in the Odyssey, does not recognize their father right away. Although the quantity of children

The sirens, which are flesh eating monsters disguised as beautiful singers, immediately attracted both Ulysses, Odysseus, and their crews. Despite this, Odysseus was a leader and plugged his men’s ears with wax while tying himself to the mast, exhibiting great leadership skills and ultimately saving his crew from the doom that followed. On the other hand, Ulysses and his men went straight to the sirens, causing the loss of one of his men temporarily. Another similar exploit were the lotus eaters, attracting the crews but for different reasons. In Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, the lotus eaters were depicted as a singing congregation, baptizing those in the river. Ulysses’ companions, Delmar and Pete instantly run into the river and get baptized, however Ulysses stays behind. This is very similar to the Odyssey- two of Odysseus’ crew men get addicted and stuck on the Land of the Lotus Eaters and Odysseus, not being tempted, must rescue them. But there are perhaps the most resemblances between the Cyclops, named Polyphemus, in the Odyssey and Big Dan Teague in Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

Both of these bestial, blind, and big monsters devour Odysseus’ crewmates and what is thought to be Ulysses’ companion, Pete. When captured by these monsters, escape is possible through the use of disguises. In the book, the men are able to ride the bellies of sheep and a ram out of Polyphemus’

In both instances, the superhuman, supernatural and mythical forces such as the bag of winds, and Baby Face Nelson alter Odysseus’ and Ulysses’ journeys. The bag of winds affected Odysseus and his crew because they were impatient in waiting to open the bag. Within ten days, they are in sight of Ithaca, but Odysseus’ shipmates, who think that Aeolus has secretly given Odysseus a fortune in gold and silver, tear the bag open. The winds escape and stir up a storm that brings them all the way back to Aeolia. Also, several of the gods are involved in Odysseus' wanderings such as Poseidon who keeps Odysseus from returning home for several years, Zeus and Hermes which at points come to Odysseus' rescue, and Athena especially interests herself in every stage of Odysseus' journey home. In O Brother Where Art Thou?, Baby face Nelson illustrates the bag of winds because of the attention he is drawing to the runaway convicts. This in a way is a setback for Everett and his men because by pulling the attention by shooting the gun, having money fly everywhere and killing cows he is prompting the cops to investigate, causing the men to be caught. As shown in their exploits, both Odysseus and Ulysses are able to show their leadership qualities by performing deeds of great valor. In O Brother Where Art Thou? and the Odyssey, the epic heroes go back for their comrades, Odysseus in