The Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou

The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou can be considered to be a film based on the Homers epic The Odyssey in terms of its plot and character. One can clearly see that Everett, the protagonist in the film, is closely similar to Odysseus, Homers main character on The Odyssey. Their personalities are noticeably alike as well as some of their several encounters. Some of these situations are their experience on a creature they called Cyclops and encounter on the enchanting songs of the Sirens. In terms of their personalities, one of their similarities is their main objective getting back to their families. To achieve his goal, Odysseus goes into his hometown, Ithaca, to kill the suitors to take back his wife. Similarly, Everett barges in a KKK meeting to rescue his friend Tommy. Though they are alike in many aspects, they both have their own set of differences.

Both characters encounter their own versions of the Cyclops. It is clear that both descriptions of the creature also have similar physical characteristics - a large man having only an eye. Also, the Cyclops in both stories attacks each character while they are not expecting them. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew are relaxing and having a feast when the Cyclops savagely assaults them. Similarly, the Cyclops in O Brother, Where Art Thou attacks Everett while he is on a picnic. The two protagonists are either imprisoned or robbed. Both Odysseus and Everett escape their own Cyclops by creating their own versions of distraction  Odysseus and his crew hiding under the sheep while Everett acts as if he is a member of the KKK. Another similar scene of The Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou is their encounter of the captivating song of the Sirens. Both Everett and Odysseus utilize the unusual smell of wax to counter the Sirens magical call. Overcoming their encounter with the Sirens makes Everett and Odysseus able to go on with their expedition.

In terms of personality, both Everett and Odysseus do not fully trust their comrades. Along his travel with his men, Odysseus carries a bag but does not reveal what is inside of it to them. Likewise, Everett does not trust on what his friends say that baptism will clear away all their sins but he still goes on with them. Though both of them ventures on with their buddies to achieve their respective goals, Everett and Odysseus do not trust them fully that they will tell or accept certain things or beliefs to them.
Though Everett and Odysseus have a range of similar characteristics and encounters, they also have their differences. One is their beliefs on religion. Odysseus is a pious man while Everett does not believe in any god nor the clearing away of sins. Although Odysseus is not very appreciative of the help given to him by the Gods, he does believe that they do really exist. On contrary, Everett does not believe that a mere ritual like when a priest dips you beneath the water (for baptism) will clear your sins or even improve your personality. In addition, Odysseus has only a son, Telemachus, while Everett has seven daughters.

The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou and Homers The Odyssey have a lot of comparable details in terms of character and plot. Odysseus and Everett are almost exactly the same as if they are twins though they also have some differences. Everett and Odysseus are probing, self-centered leaders with the same set of objectives. Everett, though very similar to Odysseus in terms of personality and characteristics, also has some distinctions that make him a unique individual. The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou depicts the dilemma of a man during the depression molded by the efforts of Odysseus in Homers great epic The Odyssey.