Comparing The Odyssey 'And O Brother Where Art Thou?'

Somewhere in 8th century ancient greek, Homer, a greek author and poet wrote one of the greatest adventure stories of all time: The Odyssey. From then on, The Odyssey has been told, revamped, and reimagined a thousand times over. O Brother, Where Art Thou? A 2000 adventure film was produced based off the great old greek tale, receiving several awards. These two stories The Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou? all share the same elements of a hero: hubris, loyalty, and tribulations; showing just how versatile and truly epic the original story is. In the story The Odyssey and in O Brother, Where Art Thou, the main hero’s downfall is caused by their own hubris. Ulysses, the hero in O Brother, Where Art Thou, is constantly concerned about his looks, his physical appearance, and how other perceive him. Ulysses is so wholly immersed in his own self that the start of the story itself is dragging Pete and Delmar on his epic journey without little …show more content…
Both heroes, Odysseus and Ulysses’ main goal is to return back to their wife and children. Their loyalty to their family is what inspires and drives the men to continue on in their journey and not give up despite all the hardships they experience. The difference between these heroes however is that Odysseus loyalty falters at points in his quest, as he is seen numerous times cheating on his wife with other women and even, at times, accepting his doomed fate and staying with them as seen when he was trapped on the island with Calypso. Ulysses on the other hand does not falter in his loyalty to his family, even when he is tricked and drugged by the laundry women, he does not sleep with them and immediately continues his journey when regaining consciousness. These heros show different amounts of loyalty to their family but in the end it is what guides them to their ultimate