O Brother Where Art Thou? and Homer's Odyssey Compared

Introduction: A Loose but Layered Adaptation

In the film O Brother Where Art Thou?, filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen loosely paralleled the epic found in Homer's Odyssey. Though there are some obvious parallels between the story and the movie, there are numerous similarities that are far more subtle. These can be found in scenes, settings, characters, and plot. A close examination of the movie reveals the multiple layers of the film's similarity to the epic work.

Character Parallels: Heroes, Politicians, and Blind Prophets

Of course, the most obvious comparisons are Odysseus and Ulysses, Penelope and Penny, and the Sirens and the "Sireens." But there are also additional character similarities. The foot-stomping politician Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel shares his first name with the King of Sparta, who fought beside Odysseus at Troy. Furthermore, it is no accident that Homer — the author of the Odyssey — shares the same name as Homer Stokes, the man challenging Pappy in the election.

Additionally, Homer was supposedly blind, so it may be that the blind man in the radio station also represents him. After all, the blind man at the radio station was the first to record the Soggy Bottom Boys, just as Homer was the first to record the saga of Odysseus.

Tiresias prophesied the trials and obstacles of Odysseus' homeward trek when Odysseus visited him in the underworld, and it is possible that the blind Black man on the railroad handcar is an allusion to him. Then again, it could also be a reference to Nestor: Telemachus, Odysseus' son, consults the Trojan War hero Nestor for guidance. Indeed, the handcar may represent Nestor's chariot, since Homer describes Nestor as the "Gerenian charioteer" time and again. It therefore seems likely that the blind man on the railroad is inspired by Nestor.

Monsters and Enchantresses: Cyclops, Sirens, and Circe

Yet another similarity comes in the form of Dan Teague, the one-eyed salesman with an eye patch. This character corresponds to the Cyclops, Polyphemus. The comparison deepens when one examines the action related to Teague: in the scene where he is pinned under the burning cross that Everett cuts loose, the falling cross appears to drive the pole of the Confederate flag into his good eye. This completes the parallel to Odysseus blinding the Cyclops with a burning piece of wood.

Though the "Sireens" and the Sirens are a fairly obvious comparison, the parallel between Circe — the sorceress in the Odyssey who turns Odysseus' men into pigs — and the "Sireens," who appear to transform Pete into a toad, is somewhat more obscure. Nevertheless, the fact that two similarly named groups of women both possess the power to turn men into animals is a clear reference to Homer's work. Also echoing the epic, while Odysseus sleeps nearby in the poem, the princess Nausicaa bathes and sings in a river while her servants wash clothes — a scene mirrored by the women at the water's edge in the film.

Conclusion: Homage to Homer

Though this essay has highlighted many examples of comparisons between the film and the epic, as noted above, there are actually many more similarities to be found. However, probably the easiest parallel to miss — and yet the most direct reference to The Odyssey in the movie — is the line of text shown at the very beginning of the film: "O muse! Sing in me, and through me tell the story…" This is an accepted translation of the first line of The Odyssey (Homer). Clearly, the Coen brothers were paying homage to Homer's work when creating their film.