“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” vs. ​
The Odyssey This comparison lists events and characters in both of the artistic works that correlate with each other. “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” The Odyssey Begins with an invocation to the Muse Begins with an invocation to the Muse Escapes from jail Escapes from Calypso and various other monsters Ulysses (George Clooney) Odysseus Clooney has 2 prison buddies Odysseus has a crew Railroad homeless man is a blind fortune teller Tiresias is a blind fortune teller Hobo predicts Ulysses won’t get the treasure he seeks Tiresias says Odysseus will take many years to get home Takes place during the Great Depression Takes place around 1200 BC Cousin Washington Hogwallop was a “pig”, needed money and sold out Ulysses Circe turns men into pigs Baptism at the river draws in Ulysses’ friends “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” ­ Karl Marx Lotus Eaters draw in Odysseus’ crew George “Babyface” Nelson ­ thief Hermes ­ God of thieves George Nelson hates cows, and killed them. Eventually, Nelson was killed and a person in the angry mob chasing him yells: “Cow killer!” Odysseus’ crew killed Helios’ cows, and were smote by Helios Women washing clothes in a river drew in Odysseus and his friends while singing Sirens draw in men with song in the sea Delmar thinks the women on the river turned Pete into a toad Circe turns men into pigs Big Dan (Daniel Teague) has one eye Cyclops has one eye Big Dan = pastor = pasture = shepherd Cyclops is shepherd of his sheep Ulysses and Delmar anger Big Dan Odysseus and crew anger the Cyclops Big Dan kills the toad that’s supposedly Pete Cyclops kills some of the crew Vernon T. Waldrip is courting Ulysses’ wife in his absence Suitors are courting Odysseus’ wife in his absence Ulysses was supposedly hit by a train Odysseus was supposedly killed in the war Ulysses, Pete, and Delmar dress as the KKK to escape with Tommy Odysseus and his crew hide under the sheep to escape the Cyclops’ lair Big Dan is almost stabbed in the eye Cyclops is stabbed in the eye Ulysses dressed as a hobo to see his wife Odysseus dressed as a beggar to see his wife Jail warden with his dog chases the convicts throughout the movie Poseidon is “out to get” Odysseus, and causes trouble for Odysseus throughout his journey home Comparison writing assignment – due by the end of the hour – 30 points In pairs, write a quality paragraph (approximately 10 sentences each) answering both of the following questions on notebook paper: 1. How effective is the film as a contemporized retelling of ​
The Odyssey​
? What elements are consistent between the two works, and which are different? Use at least 6 examples from the chart in your reasoning. 2. In what ways have the changes made in the film affected the overall message of ​
The Odyssey​
?