Differences in Quote and Character between O Brother and The Odyssey

There are far too many similarities between O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and The Odyssey for the Coen brothers to have not read The Odyssey. There are also some differences in quote and character that are interesting to think about.

                 The most interesting parallel I noticed that was a little different was the speaking about how trustworthy the women were. In the movie Ulysses Everett McGill speaks to Delmar, who talked in class about being part of the crew (maybe even Telemachus but that's not what I'm going to be talking about), and he is the one to tell him to never trust a woman. This immediately distracted me, as I presented book 11 for our in-class presentations, and in the book, Agamemnon is the one who says to never trust a woman.

                On page 263, Book 11 lines 499-503, Homer narrates, “True, true,’ Agamemnon’s ghost kept pressing on, // ‘so even your own wife—never indulge her too far. // Never reveal the whole truth, whatever you may know; // just tell her a part of it, be sure to hide the rest. // Not that you, Odysseus, will be murdered by your wife.” I think this is interesting because of how it differs from what happens in the movie. In the movie, Delmar is speaking to Everett in the movie theater and is speaking about how Everett is a “paterfamilias.” He has “spread his seed” but apparently to the wrong woman who is now married to Waldrup. Everett tells Delmar to “never trust a woman,” as he has bad experience with women, as Penny is now engaged to Waldrup.

               I think the parallel is interesting because of what the difference in voice represents. In both works, Everett and Odysseus both are skeptical of their women, and I think it is interesting that Odysseus is told this in The Odyssey but Everett tells this in O Brother.  Everett and Odysseus share almost all of the same qualities. At the beginning of the movie I wasn’t quite sure who Odysseus was, but I immediately realized when Everett referred to himself as the “cool tactician.” Not only is this similar to Odysseus’ skills, but also typical of Odysseus to be proud and confident of his expertise.

               There was another part of the movie that immediately threw me off. The scene where Big Dan takes the crew to a place in the middle of nowhere to eat. Big Dan grabs the branch and is suddenly beating up Delmar, and Everett says, “what’s going on Big Dan?” In The Odyssey Odysseus doesn’t really have any moments like this that I remember where he’s just all out oblivious. I can think of times where his pride gets the better of him, but not anywhere he himself acts stupid and ruins things.

               O Brother has a lot of interesting parallels and some are portrayed differently in the movie to match the slightly different plot, which I like. It wouldn’t make sense to force a connection, where there really shouldn’t be one, or if it doesn’t apply to the slightly different characters. These are just some things I noticed in differences in character and quote, can you guys think of any other examples?

Athena's Major Role in Odysseus' Homecoming

As we have seen in multiple instances throughout the epic, Athena plays a major role in Odysseus’s journey home. Not only does she aid him in times of hardship, towards the end of the epic, she twists everything around him to make it more entertaining for herself. I feel as though this is typical of Greek mythology, with a morally ambiguous God/Goddess.

               Toward the beginning of the story Athena does everything to push along the story. She knows what she wants to happen and she won’t settle for anything less than a battle at the end. We see her eager for a battle, and the use of the word “gleaming” to signify her desire for a “bloodbath.” In book 20 this turns into a blazing eye to show the reader something big is about to go down, what Athena has been planning for the whole book.

               Odysseus recognizes the help he receives from Athena in book 20 on page 411, where he says, “There’s another worry that haunts me even more. / What if I kill them – thanks to you and Zeus – / How do I run from under their avengers? / Show me way, I ask you.” At this point, Zeus knows he receives help, and he even expects further in the actual battle. On the next page, Athena is speaking about how he should be sleeping and says, “So, surrender to sleep at last. What a misery, / keeping watch through the night, wide awake - / you’ll soon come up from under all your troubles.” At first I read this as though Athena was watching him all night, and sees what he is going through and that he can’t sleep. To which she, pretty much, replies, “It will be all OK, because I will make it OK.” Even if I’m not reading this correctly to the point where Athena I watching all night, she does still stay that she will make everything OK, which is relevant to the main point of her constant aid.

               When not everything is going perfectly well in her plot, Athena makes Odysseus’s enemies meaner, just to spice things up. She makes the suitors act especially mean just to make sure that Odysseus doesn’t let them go.  On page 387, Homer narrates, “But Athena had no mind to let the brazen suitors / hold back now from their heart-rending insults- / she meant to make the anguish cut still deeper/ into the core of Laertes’ son Odysseus.” Athena has this crazy desire for Odysseus to be very upset at the suitors because she wants them to die. We talked about this a bit in class, how at first Athena’s eyes “gleam” for battle. But at this point, Homer refers to her eyes as “Blazing,” signifying a next-level change in desire.

               At the end of book 20, with the scene with the blood oozing meat, and ghostly faces, Athena takes it over the top. The seer and prophet Theoclymenus says, “Oh I can see it now- / the disaster closing on you all! There’s no escaping it, / no way out – not for a single one of your suitors, / wild reckless fools, plotting outrage here, / the halls of Odysseus, great and strong as a god!” Odysseus’s halls here are compared to that of a god, this god being Athena. Athena has done so much for Odysseus’s homecoming, that she was the main cause of the entire last bloodbath. From Athena’s intervention with the suitor’s actions, we know that Odysseus may not have been as harsh on the suitors as Athena was herself through Odysseus.  Athena has a major roll and Homer constantly speaks about the major effect Athena had on the final result, by comparing the work to that of a God, showing Athena’s constant aid, as well as showing the contrast of what would have happened without Athena’s over the top intervention.