“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” vs. The Odyssey

How often do you even hear about Mythology? Why do we even need it? Is there even a point to it? I often ask myself these questions, especially since we have been intensely studying this subject in Mr. Thompson’s class. I have come to realization that we do use Mythology in every day life, even if we do not realize it. Many children’s storybooks are based off of Mythology stories. I also did not realize that many movies are based off of certain Mythology stories. For example, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” is a “spoof” off of the Mythology story, The Odyssey. I personally, found that after watching this movie, it was difficult to compare it to The Odyssey, so I will begin with the contrasting points. First, the main character in The Odyssey is royalty, and not law-breaking criminals. Second, unlike The Odyssey, the story is not violent or gruesome, and nobody dies in this movie. The comparing points are first, they have quite a journey, wandering away from home, in an unfamiliar place. Second, several of the characters in this movie relate to those in The Odyssey. Both of the stories have similar events, but also opposite ones too!

The first contrasting point in The Odyssey is that the main character, Odysseus, is a king, and considered important to those around him. He is a well-liked ruler, and respected by those around him, other rulers and kings, and also those he is the ruler over. However, in the movie “O brother, Where Are Thou?” the main characters are law-breaking, unimportant and undesired criminals. They disobeyed the laws, and were put on a prison farm in Mississippi, to crush rocks so that they did not have to interfere with society. The farm was hard, but at the same time safe, and they were not put into any danger while they were there.

Second, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” does not have a violent or gruesome storyline. They are going through a long journey, but they are somewhat safe while traveling. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men are put in very dangerous situations, and there are many deadly experiences. For example: When they are trapped with the Cyclops, or with the flesh-eating monsters, or falling down waterfalls to their doom, or going to the underworld and slowly having the life sucked from their fragile mortal bodies. Although these storylines are opposite in many ways, they are also similar in many ways also.

The first comparing point is that in both stories, the characters experience quite a journey. They wander away far from home or any familiar place, and are both searching to find the path to take them home. There is a long journey that they must endure in both stories. Throughout the journey in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” they meet several characters that relate to those in Mythology.

Second, in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Delmar, Pete, and Ulysses meet some strange people who are much like those in The Odyssey. For example: The sirens (The singing women at the river), and a Cyclops (the one-eyed Bible salesman).

In conclusion, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and The Odyssey are both similar and opposite in many aspects, and are both related to Mythology stories.