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Similarities Between Odyssey 'And O Brother Where Art Thou?'

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“O Brother Where Art Thou?” is a comedy, adventure film produced in 2000. Many of the scenes in this film are based off the Odyssey, which is an epic poem by Homer. It is based on a true hero’s journey back home. There are many correlations and yet differences between the Odyssey and the film. Although the overall plot of “O Brother Where Art Thou?” is vaguely similar to the Odyssey, there are certain “episodes” that closely mirror the film’s classical influence. First, both Odyssey and “O Brother Where Art Thou?” begins with an invocation to the Muse. The film begins with a statement “O Muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story.” This is a translation of the first line of the Odyssey. Moreover, Ulysses, Everett’s fist name means Odysseus in Latin. It the film, Everett escapes from jail with two prison buddies and they meet a railroad homeless man who is a blind fortune teller. This is similar to when Odysseus escapes from Calypso and various other monsters with a crew and runs into Tiresias. …show more content…

First, Odysseus and Everett share an abundance of epic hero qualities. Everett shows his courage when he disguised as KKK to free Tommy. This parallels to when Odysseys and his crew hide under the sheep and defeats the mighty Polyphemus. Everett is a cunning, quick-tongued, sharp leader, which is the same as Odysseus. Also, Pete and Delmar appear to be as dumb as the crew written in the Odyssey. However, there are some characteristics that do not seem to match up. Odysseus is shown to be loyal, generous, and trustworthy but we cannot see much of these personalities on

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Homer writes about stubborn characters who are challenging for Odysseus because he is losing their trust everyday that him and his crew were not back home to their families. Although he is known for being a cunning and intelligent character, he is not the most mentally stable person. Odysseus has had his hypocritical moments which have caused plenty to question his leadership skills.

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The epic told written by Homer about a hero named Odysseus and his crew and their journey back to their homeland of Ithaca is closely related to the film, “O Brother Where Art ‘Thou”, by the Coen Brothers. But when looked at from a different perspective it is clear that the differences outweigh the similarities. In the movie there are many ways that each character can be perceived. For example, the sheriff that is looking hunting Ulysses and his crew can be seen as the Devil or Poseidon. There is evidence that he is the devil because during the movie he burns two barns and the devil and fire are very closely related.

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The Odyssey written by Homer and the Siren Song, by Margaret Atwood both use imagery, symbolism, different tones and different point of view to depict Sirens. The Odyssey surrounds a man who hears the Sirens song, but uses different tactics to survive it, although the Siren Song is written as if the written is a siren trying to prey on the readers. The difference of narrators tells the story of the Sirens in two very different

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Even though they had the same goal the people who helped them, the children they wanted to see, and the challenges they faced once they got there were really different. Both Odysseus and Everett attempted to get back home to their wife with crews that were very unlike,but had some similarities to each other. Odysseus had many men 600 to be exact and they knew to an extent what they were getting into. Each one of Odysseus’s men in The Odyssey choose to go or were forced to go to the Trojan War, but they knew the end goal of beating the Trojans.

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In the Odyssey

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Do you remember reading a thrilling story that you could actually relate too? Numerous stories today tell the inspiring stories of people by many authors; however, I feel The Odyssey and Romeo and Juliet both portray similar themes in the context of the story. For example, both show the importance of love, family, and fate in the context of the story. In the story Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is passionately in love with Juliet.

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Odysseus and Everett are both on a journey to get home. In The Odyssey, Odysseus has been away for a long time, twenty years to be exact. He was at the Trojan War for ten years and it took him ten more to get home. In O Brother Where Art Thou, Everett got away from the other prisoners that he was chained with so he can go home and win his wife back. The two men are vain.

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There are many themes in both O Brother where Art Thou and the Odyssey which seem to be strongly similar. Many similarities between the characters and their actions surface through their actions. In my essay I will not only compare and contrast the most important elements of the mentioned works, but will also discuss the importance of heroic figures and the less favored themes, such as revenge and foolish fearlessness. It is important to note that both works are taken place during hard times. Odysseus’ journey is dated around 1200 BCE, or the ‘Dark Age’.

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“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, a great Greek hero. It tells of his venture to Troy, to lead his army in the Trojan War, and his separation from loved ones and his kingdom for twenty years. However, the novel mainly focuses on the story of his homecoming and all he, and many others, had to endure while he was returning from abroad.

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Overall, Odysseus is often portrayed as a “model hero”, but in reality he has many faults such as being untrustworthy, arrogant and

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Sundiata and The Odyssey are two out of the many great great orally told tales in all of mankind history. In writing, comparing your work to another similar text is extremely important for making your paper understandable to any audience. In this case, I will be comparing the two similar texts, The Odyssey and Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Both of these two tables show the characters, Sundiata and Odysseus, long quests of pursuing and accomplishing a certain objective. To reach their goal, both characters encounter obstacles and enemies who want to stop them on their prolonged journey.

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Many characteristics can be applied to Odysseus in the book the (Odyssey, Homer), but a few really stand out. In fact, Odysseus can be considered an epic hero in the Odyssey, as evidenced by his actions, his faults, and his loyalty. An epic hero is brave, adventurous, a leader, and loyal. Most epic hero’s have faults as well. These characteristics closely follow Odysseus’s own.

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In this piece, author Janice Siegel explores the numerous similarities and differences between Homer’s Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou? and their place in the Deep South setting. By comparing the pieces, she reveals the Coen brothers’ successful mission to draw from the Odyssey in their film. This exploration relates specifically to my paper and will aid my writing by providing a sweeping view of the different points of influence and similarity that I can explore, including the textual treatment of the supernatural and the hero’s quest for reunion with his wife.

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In the movie Everetts, wife, for the most part, was loyal to him until she was about to marry Veron. The differences between Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou are pronounced, and they deserve a thorough investigation. As a result, just like when Poseidon tried to kill Odysseus, in the movie the cops were trying to kill Delmar, Pete, and Everett. In the movie, the blind railroad conductor is similar to Tiresias because they both predicted the future for the main characters. Another similarity of both stories is when the main character of O Brother, Where Art Thou dressed up as KKK

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863 Words | 4 Pages

The Odyssey and Ulysses were meant to be the same character written by two different individuals. Both individuals encountered obstacles at some point in their lives. Odysseus and Ulysses were both considered a hero in today’s society along with their similar characteristics. The heroic qualities and themes presented in both pieces of the literature work emphasized the similarity between the two characters along with their differences.

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