Mr. Sims
Honors English 1
5 April 2014
The Odyssey vs. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? is about a group of three convicts who encounter many unique events in search for a lost treasure. The story The Odyssey is about a Spartan army that faces many difficult challenges in order to make it home. O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey have many similarities and differences, especially involving the main characters.
The similarities between O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey are crucial to keeping them related. The first major similarity is about the fortunetellers. In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the blind man on the railroad tells the fortune, and in The Odyssey, Tiresias tells fortunes. The next major similarity is the many ways the crews travel off course. In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the baptism at the river draws in Pete and Delmar, and in The Odyssey, Lotus-eaters draw in the crew. The third similarity is the next way the crews get blown off course. In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the men get distracted by the women who are washing their clothes, and in the story, the men get distracted by the sirens. Another major similarity is one of the monsters the men run into. In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the crew runs into a one eyed man named Big Dan T, and in the story the men run into a Cyclops named Polyphemus. The last major similarity is the suitors. In O Brother Where Art Thou?, Vernon T. Waldrip becomes the suitor for Everett’s wife Penny, and in The Odyssey, when Odysseus leaves, many men become suitors for his wife, Penelope. Although there are many similarities in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey, there are also a few differences.
The differences between The Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou? allow the stories to be more adapted and related for the audience. Overall, there are three major differences between The Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou?. The first major difference is the