O Brother, Where Art Thou? Critique O Brother, Where Art Thou? Directed by Joel Coen in 2000 is a comical journey of three escaped convicts, Ulysses Everett McGill, Pete Hogwallop, and Delmar O'Donnell on their journey to reclaim $1.2 million Everett “robbed from and armored car”. They make friends and must overcome many obstacles all while avoiding the ruthless sheriff who is hunting them. Everett later reveals that there is in fact no treasure, and it was just a story so Pete and Delmar would help him stop his wife from remarrying. The movie was littered with bits of humor and overall a very enjoyable contrast to Homer’s The Odyssey. The epic cycle is evident throughout the film and Coen’s use of contrasting personalities in their supporting
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Their call to action is the money incentive that Everett McGill has bribed them with. Shortly after escaping, they encounter a blind man on the railroad who is an oracle like character and tells them the treasure they seek is not the one they will get. This mysterious man also assists them by giving them a ride away from the sheriff. The three then make their way to Pete’s cousin’s cabin where they plan to stay the night, but get a rude awakening when the sheriff and his men who show up after the cousin turned them in. Pete’s nephew then helps them depart when he drives them out of the burning barn, and the three start their journey and enter the woods. They face many trials along the way, including the sirens who also turn Pete into the sheriff for the reward, although Delmar thinks Pete was turned into a toad. Now down to two for the time being, Everett and Delmar continue …show more content…
The witty leader Everett McGill is contrasted with the disagreeable Pete who challenges Everett’s leadership, but ultimately accepts it, and the unintelligent but entertaining partner who is just there because he was chained to them, Delmar. It is a common makeup of heroic groups, that helps make this film modern. The sharp contrast in the supporting character and main character comes when comparing Everett, the main character, to either Delmar or Pete, the supporting characters, because he is far smarter than both of them, but doesn’t fully understand that he is. This film also has ample allusions to The Odyssey. Big Dan Teague is supposed to represent the cyclops, Penny, Everett’s wife represents Penelope, Vernon T. Waldrip personifies the suitors, and the congregation walking in a trance to the water is the lotus eaters. The film changes these fictional examples from an old work to modern, easily understood ones. Finally, the motif of blindness is so heavily prevalent in the film, and is present because Homer, the author of The Odyssey was blind. The man on the railroad and the man at WEZY radio station were blind, and Big Dan Teague was blind in one eye. This connection is not to the actual book, but the author
Their call to action is the money incentive that Everett McGill has bribed them with. Shortly after escaping, they encounter a blind man on the railroad who is an oracle like character and tells them the treasure they seek is not the one they will get. This mysterious man also assists them by giving them a ride away from the sheriff. The three then make their way to Pete’s cousin’s cabin where they plan to stay the night, but get a rude awakening when the sheriff and his men who show up after the cousin turned them in. Pete’s nephew then helps them depart when he drives them out of the burning barn, and the three start their journey and enter the woods. They face many trials along the way, including the sirens who also turn Pete into the sheriff for the reward, although Delmar thinks Pete was turned into a toad. Now down to two for the time being, Everett and Delmar continue …show more content…
The witty leader Everett McGill is contrasted with the disagreeable Pete who challenges Everett’s leadership, but ultimately accepts it, and the unintelligent but entertaining partner who is just there because he was chained to them, Delmar. It is a common makeup of heroic groups, that helps make this film modern. The sharp contrast in the supporting character and main character comes when comparing Everett, the main character, to either Delmar or Pete, the supporting characters, because he is far smarter than both of them, but doesn’t fully understand that he is. This film also has ample allusions to The Odyssey. Big Dan Teague is supposed to represent the cyclops, Penny, Everett’s wife represents Penelope, Vernon T. Waldrip personifies the suitors, and the congregation walking in a trance to the water is the lotus eaters. The film changes these fictional examples from an old work to modern, easily understood ones. Finally, the motif of blindness is so heavily prevalent in the film, and is present because Homer, the author of The Odyssey was blind. The man on the railroad and the man at WEZY radio station were blind, and Big Dan Teague was blind in one eye. This connection is not to the actual book, but the author