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The Odyssey

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The Odyssey
The Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer begins ten years after the Trojan war. The narrator calls upon the Muse asking her for inspiration so he can begin to tell the story of Odysseus and his travels. Odysseus has yet to return home to Ithaca and is on the island of Ogygia with the goddess, Calypso. Calypso loves Odysseus and will not let him leave the island. His son, Telemachus (who was an infant when Odysseus left) is now a young man. He is convinced his father is dead as suitors are taking over his home and trying to win over Odysseus's wife, Penelope. Due to the fact that Odysseus and his men have blinded Poseidon's son, Polyphemus (the Cyclops). Poseidon, god of the sea is angered and offended and has caused Odysseus and him …show more content…
The movie opens with a line of text that says, “O Muse, Sing to Me and through me tell the story”. This is similar to the beginning of the Odyssey when the narrator calls upon the Muse to inspire him so he can prepare to tell the story of Odysseus’s journey. Another similarity is when Geaorge Clooney and his men escape from prison and run into many obstacles along the way, such as the women washing clothes by the river singing. Their singing lures Clooney and his men to the river just as the Sirens song was meant to draw sailors to them so they could be lured into the sea. John Goodman who plays the character of, Big Dan who has one eye and invites Everett (Clooney) and one of his men to a picnic under a big tree. While Goodman is eating a chicken bone (similar to the Cyclops picking his teeth with human bones), he thanks them for the meal and tries to kill them with a large tree branch because he wants their money. He finds nothing but a toad, that is actually Pete. He squishes the toad with his bare hands and steals their car. They later killig Dan with a burning cross. Odysseus wanted to kill the Cyclops but he could not because his friend would have trapped. Instead he takes a burning piece of timber and blinds him and they escape. The story differs from the Odyssey in many ways as well. Clooney is anxious to get home

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