A Close Look at the Two Main Characters in the Odyssey and O Brother Where Art Thou?
A Close Look at the Two Main Characters in The Odyssey and O Brother Where Art Thou? Homer’s The Odyssey has been known to have influenced many novels and movies, one of which is the Coen Brothers’ 2000 film, O Brother Where Art Thou?. This movie is known to be loosely based on the poem The Odyssey and it is evident through the movie’s plot and characters. What leads us to see the connection of this film to The Odyssey, though, are the similarities between the leading characters; Odysseus in The Odyssey and Ulysses in O Brother Where Art Thou?. They share similar personalities as well as a run into similar circumstances. However, they come to be different when taking a closer look at their families and religious beliefs. The first obvious similarity between Everett and Odysseus is their name. Ulysses is known as Ulysses Everett McGill. Ulysses is Latin for Odysseus. Although the two characters are from two different eras, their names show clearly the connection between them. Both men are seen as adventurous, having one main objective; to re-unite with their families. Their personalities are also almost identical in that both travel alongside friends whom they do not completely trust. For instance, the bag of wind given to Odysseus by Aeolus was never revealed to Odysseus’ comrades until they themselves had to find out what was in it (Hamilton, p291). In O Brother Where Art Thou?, Ulysses doesn’t trust his friends about being baptized for the sake of being purified and feeling better about yourself (O Brother Where Art Thou?, 2000). Both Odysseus and Ulysses are also seen as men with great determination, that despite the many obstacles they came across, they never gave up their dream of being re-united with their families. In the Odyssey, Odysseus was kept away from his home for many years, but was still determined to return to see his wife and son. In O Brother Where Art Thou?, Ulysses was similarly kept away from his wife and children by being
Cited: Hamilton Edith. Mythology. London: Little, Brown and Company, 1998. O Brother Where Art Thou?. Coen Brothers, Eric Fellner. DVD. Touchstone, 2000.