Epic Then And Nowcompairisons Between The Movie O Brother Where Art Thou And The Odyssey
Submitted by corsair201 on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
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Epic Then And Nowcompairisons Between The Movie O Brother Where Art Thou And The Odyssey
The semi-modern retelling of Homer's great work, The Odyssey, known as Oh Brother Where Art Thou is a fine example to compare the subtle changes used in the modernization of writings of old. Oh Brother Where Art Thou is a movie, set in the 1930's, portraying a man known as Everett in similar adventures to Odysseus, except Everett's adventures take place in the ever-changing American South. The examples of Odysseus's adventures in the movie are: the gruesome encounter with the Cyclops, the account of the possessed Lotus Eaters, and the ever-persistent presence of Poseidon.
The brutal Cyclops in the poem shows it's true nature of tyrannical and uncivil actions towards men. Although when Odysseus recollects upon his journey he doesn't need any invitation to speak of the disgusting creatures. "We came next to the Cyclopians, the google eyes, a violent and lawless tribe." (Homer, 102) However in the movie, Everett first encounters the "Cyclops" in a fine dining establishment, in fact the "Cyclops", played by John Goodman, is in a clean white suit and looks quite civilized. However when the "Cyclops" gets Everett and his companions alone, in a secluded area, he wastes no time in beating them with a large branch, and killing a toad that symbolized Pete, one of his companions. The killing of the toad represents the killing of Odysseus' men in the poem. "Then the cruel monster said, Noman shall be last eaten of his company, and all the others shall be eaten before him! That shall be your strangers gift.'" (Homer, 107) The Oh Brother Where Art Thou Cyclops then leaves them for dead and takes their transportation and their money; we later learn that he is a member of the KKK, a hateful fraternity of fascists, bigots, and racists of all types. Although the Cyclops occurred later on in the poem, we still have a similarity to another of the dangers Odysseus faced, The Lotus Eaters.
In the poem, Odysseus and his men encounter an island of people who do...
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