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?
I think this comparison between Odysseus and Everitt and how they learn that women are supposedly trustworthy is really interesting. At a glance, Odysseus and Everitt seem really similar, but there are a lot of minor differences that separate their characters. Everitt is running away from the law after committing a sin, while Odysseus is trying to return home after a noble war. Furthermore, Everitt's wife didn't wait for him to return and just moved on, while Penelope stayed faithful despite being constantly pursued by suitors. This seems to show that Everitt wasn't worth waiting for, while Odysseus was. Maybe Everitt is the more morally ambiguous version of Odysseus. Just a thought I had.
ReplyDeleteWow! I never really thought of things this way. It would really be hard for the Coen brothers to not have read The Odyssey but yet somehow come up with this similar yet different parallel. I find it really interesting that the Penelope in The Odyssey was still waiting for Odysseus but the Penelope in O Brother already married. It's too coincidental that both of the main characters got back together if the Coen brothers didn't read the book.
ReplyDeleteI think that another really interesting parallel to me was Odysseus/Everett's "legacy". For example, in The Odyssey, Odysseus is mostly known for his battle and war skills, paired with his intelligence. In Oh Brother, Everett and his men become known for their music through the radio. When you realize that, you can compare the suitors' slaughter in the hall to the Soggy Bottom Boys' outstanding performance in the dining hall. In the suitors' slaughter, Odysseus is doing what he's known best for, and in the dining hall performance Everett gains the respect and love of everyone in the room, including his wife, despite the fact that he is a criminal. I think that there is a parallel between strategy and war in the Odyssey and the power of music in Oh Brother Where Art Thou.
ReplyDeleteWow! I hadn't noticed the "legacy" idea quite that way. I saw it more as Odysseus has a legacy for being an epic hero he doesn't quite live up to whereas Everett has a reputation for being a dishonest cheater which he gets pardoned of. Now that you mention it that way, I think it could be either a similarity or a difference or both.
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