O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? / THE ODYSSEYComparison

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? - Summary

Everrett Ulysses McGill, sick of breaking rocks in the heat of a Mississippi summer, escapes with his two dim accomplices, Delmar and Pete. Trying to reclaim a buried treasure before it’s lost forever underneath a lake, the three make their way to Everett's homestead. Along the way, they meet a conniving one-eyed Bible salesman, a blind prophet, a trio of sexy sirens, and a man who sold his soul to the devil. In their race to reach the treasure before it's flooded, they end up crashing a Ku Klux Klan lynch mob, help a sensitive Baby-Face Nelson rob three banks in two hours, and even have enough time to put out a best selling record as "The Soggy Bottom Boys."

Everett Ulysses McGill• Protagonist – compared to Odysseus in the Odyssey• “Ulysses” is the Latin version of the name Odysseus• Denounces religion just as Odysseus does not believe in the power of the gods• The name Odysseus means “man who is in constant pain and sorrow”.• Both men are trying to get back home.

Blind Prophets

Rail Road Man Tiresias

Baptists / Lotus-Eaters

Not shown in the Odyssey movie

The Lotus Eaters trap the crew on the island without the crew realizing it.

Some of the crew eat the lotus (a plant that makes you forget about everything else)

All they want to do is eat the lotus plant and stay there. 

Baptists Lotus-Eaters

Blind bard (poet)

Radio Station Manager Homer (author of the Odyssey)

Cows!

Not shown in the movie

Odysseus’ men eat the Sun God’s sacred cattle

Zeus throws down a lightning bolt and kills all of the crew except for Odysseus

Babyface and cattle The cattle of the Sun God (Helios)

River Girls / Sirens

Not shown in the movie

The song of the sirens bewitched men and drew them in to the island where they would be smashed against the rock and shipwrecked.

River Girls Sirens

Changed into an Animal

Pete becomes a toad Circe changes men to swine

Big Dan / Cyclops

Big Dan Cyclops

Pappy / MenelausPappy (real name is Menelaus) – Governor of Mississippi

Menelaus – King of Sparta

Sheriff / Poseidon

Sheriff Poseidon

Penny / Penelope

Penny (Everett’s wife) Penelope (Odysseus’ wife)

Vernon T. Waldrip / Suitors

Vernon T. Waldrip Suitors

Nearly Drowned

Everett survives Odysseus survives