Comparing The Odyssey And Oh Brother Where Art Thou

The Odyssey, written by Homer, and Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? both resemble each other very much even though they were constructed during two vastly different time periods. In the movie Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?, the main character is Ulysses Everette McGill while in The Odyssey the main character is Odysseus. In Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey, both stories are about men traveling through many challenging obstacles to get back to their home and their wives. Both Ulysses and Odysseus go through challenging journeys to return back home. They face hardships that they have to overcome that overall makes them a better person. In the literary works, The Odyssey and Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?, the author uses irony, tone, and

both use the literary device irony throughout the stories’ main characters' eventful adventures. Using irony through these stories gave the opportunity for the main characters to prove their worth and to be accepted by their homeland. For example, Odysseus said, “Because I am all dirty, dressed in rags, and begging through the town? I have no choice. This is how homeless people have to live.” (Homer 19:73-75). Odysseus had to disguise himself as a beggar instead of the king he was to prove that he was still worthy of being a king. It also helped Odysseus draw out people who were no good for his kingdom. Another example of irony was when Pappy said, “I'm a forgive-and-forgettin' Christian, and I say, if their rambunctiousness, and misdemeanoring, is behind them... It is, ain't it, boys?” (Martin, Oh, Brother..). No one liked Ulysses and his two friends, but people did like the Soggy Bottom Boys that they were disguised as. This was their saving grace because it caused everyone to see the new version of themselves, and the boys were free to be themselves at their own home again. The irony is that people liked one version of a person but disliked the other version of the same

One example of tone from The Odyssey is when Odysseus said, “They wept and wailed, and shed great floods of tears. But all that grieving could do no good.” (Homer, 201-203 10). Another example of tone was when Ulysses said, "Well, as soon as we get ourselves cleaned up and we get a little smellum in our hair, why, we're gonna feel 100% better about ourselves and about life in general." (Martin, Oh, Brother…). Odysseus and Ulysses had to be leaders to their men. They endured through some hard times together, and when everyone wanted to give up, Ulysses and Odysseus had to keep their men’s heads up. They had to say these things to their men to keep them positive and moving through all of the horrible times when they thought nothing would ever get better. The tone is something that occurs all throughout both stories, whether it be sad, scared, or excited depending on the