The Oddessy Vs. O Brother Where Art Thou

The Odyssey is one of the oldest stories ever written and it's amazing how it has stuck around for so many years. It's very cool to see such an old tale be interpreted into

a hugely different time period and almost a completely different storyline. O Brother, Where art Thou? is a brilliant movie. It makes the movie so much more meaningful when you have read the book and can make the connections. In the beginning of the movie it says that its based on The Odyssey and with all of the appearances of similar characters and events, it would be extremely hard to write a three page paper on how O Brother, Where Art Thou? isn't based on The Odyssey. In regards to that, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is based on many of the characters and events of The Odyssey.

Ulysses Everett McGill portrays Odysseus, the hero of The Odyssey. First of all, they are both main characters of their stories. They have similar characteristics such as, being charismatic, conceited, and being a strong leader. All of which are typical of being a main character. Is interesting how in the movie Everett was a terrible fighter, unlike Odysseus. In every situation he was beat up and later had to defeat the opponent with his brains. Odysseus was most definitely a "Dapper Dan Man". One connection for this could be that it shows the character's arrogance by always having to look and smell good all the time or how they are both so self-important.

Another obvious connection is the Cyclops. In Odysseus' journey he meets a giant with one eye who is a Shepard. Everett encounters a similar character. He is a large Bible salesman who beats him and Delmar up and kills the toad they think is their friend Pete. Odysseus defeats the Cyclops by stabbing it in the eye with a wooden...

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...laus is the name of the king of Sparta who fought alongside Odysseus. In the movie, Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar float on a coffin after the area his home is in is flooded; In The Odyssey, Odysseus sails on a raft for 17 days before Poseidon destroys it. The challenger in the governor's race is named Homer.

The Odyssey is a great read and I feel its very important that we read it in high school. Contrary to what Mr. C believes about every story being a rip off of The Odyssey, I feel that only because it is so old and there are so many different parts of the book that every newer story cannot help but contain some part of The Odyssey. O Brother, Where Art Thou? is seriously one of my favorite movies and it's such a pleasure to better understand the storyline. With so many references to points and characters, O Brother, Where art Thou? is obviously based on The Odyssey.