Religion In The Odyssey

Improved Essays
One of the important aspects that the film incorporates in order to enhance the theme of religion are the intertextual references for the depiction of the devil. The intertextual description of devil in the hypotext’s of Greek mythology, The Odyssey and the Bible enhance and provide further meaning to the character of Sheriff Cooley. In image 1, Everett describes the devil as “red and scaly with a bifurcated tail” who carries “a hay fork”. However, Tommy Johnson swiftly interrupts by saying “Oh, no. No, sir. He's white, as white as you folks, with empty eyes and a big hollow voice”. The first description given by Everett depicts the typical image of a devil in bible as well as Greek mythology because most of the time the devils are described …show more content…
As seen in image 1, Sheriff Cooley is seen wearing his dark shades which reflect flames when his face is seen in medium-close up shot. However, the flames in his eye disappear when he hears the sound of the water which is about to flood that area. This scene can also be perceived through image 2. This represents the flood from Noah’s ark and the struggles faced by Odysseus while travelling through the ocean. This is because the flood in Noah’s ark had a potential context of destroying evil from the world and bring peace and harmony through the destruction of greed and other vices. This was also seen through the Odyssey as Odysseus eventual overcome the obstacles faced by the sea God ‘Poseidon’ Similarly, the fire/flames in Sheriff Cooley’s glasses resemble evil and the flood from the Dam represents resurrection from evil as the water is symbolised as being pure because it is also used during baptism scene in the movie. Overall, the elements fire and water show the religious and heroic context of good overcoming evil. This enhances the appearance and characteristics of Sheriff Cooley as the flames and dark glasses relate him to destruction and evil because he is seen wearing the glasses at day time as well as night time resembling blind revenge for their escape from the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Devil has been portrayed in thousands of stories, shows and movies. How this character appears varies from story to story. Some show the Devil as a red man with horns, others as a normal person. “Young Goodman Brown”, which portrays the Devil as the later, is about how everyone is sinful, while “The Man in the Black Suit”, which portrays the Devil as more of the former, is about how the Devil comes for us all. While both “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Man in the Black Suit” show the danger of Devil like figures, they both have different risks involved, demonstrating that stories with similar antagonists can still have very different themes.…

    • 1088 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In contrast, in The Devil and Tom Walker, the devil is described as gruff, and not well dressed. It is stated that he is “dingy and begrimed with soot”. (Irving, p. 3) He does not seem particularly intelligent, and his speech is often accompanied with…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout his novels, Charles Dickens uses symbols to represent emotions or desires, or to point out certain characteristics. These symbols come in a variety of forms from reappearing objects to elemental forces. In Great Expectations, the image of fire is commonly repeated throughout the novel and appears in most, if not all, settings. It materializes as candles, forges, and hearths. Fire is not just meant to set the atmosphere in this novel, but it conveys a deeper message about the characters in the scene.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Okonkwo, one of the strongest and most respected people of his clan, "was popularly called the 'roaring flame'. As he looked into the fire he recalled the name. He was a flaming fire" (Achebe 153). Fire is a symbol in this situation, where it is seen as being strong, passionate, cruel- although it is difficult to pin down a single meaning of the symbol, it proves Foster's idea that a symbol illustrates different thoughts.…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    evil and how good overcomes evil. The first idea of this that doesn't get portrayed in the movie is the idea of laughter. For example in the book when the dust witch tries to kill Mr. Halloway by slowing his heart we see the narrator say, "Charles Halloway snorted. Faintly, he giggled. (Bradbury).…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “The Devil and Tom Walker” Old Scratch is depicted as a man who looked liked he worked in fire, wearing half Indian garments and a red belt, had darker skin, and had coarse black hair (Irving, 1824, pp. 3-4). In “The Devil and Daniel Webster” Old Scratch is described as a “soft-spoken, dark-dressed stranger” and he had teeth that “were white teeth, and plentiful” (Benét, 1936, p. 12). Similarly, in both instances he has some kind of dark element to his appearance. They were depicted in this manner to give different feelings about the Devil. Old Scratch had more of a common person or a worker when he made a deal with Tom.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What does the devil look like and how does he sound? Is he just a cloven beast with horns and a roaring voice? Or is he a little more inconspicuous? In her short story, “Where are you going, Where have you been?”, Joyce Carol Oates shows readers exactly who the devil is. The story takes place in the sixties, and revolves around two main characters, Connie and Arnold Friend.…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Analysis

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited

    The fire also represents the boys’ connection to civilization. During the times they are most distant from their original rules and agreements, i.e. hunting trips, the fire is unlit. These are the times they have been distracted from thoughts of…

    • 1237 Words
    • 5 Pages
    • 1 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Odyssey, one of Homer’s most famous poems, shows how influential the actions of the gods and goddesses were on the mortals. The gods and goddesses are such an important aspect within the Odyssey because all of the power they hold and use over the mortals. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle, has a very deceptive yet helpful and caring personality, but hides herself in disguises in order to protect her identity from the humans. Throughout the poem, she uses different disguises in her interactions with the characters to achieve a specific goal for each situation. Specifically, she encounters Telemachus, Nausicca, Odysseus, and Penelope, assisting them in each in a different way.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I find it interesting how differently the Greek culture in the Odyssey is compared to our culture today. I noticed differences in gender roles, the unquestioning hospitality offered even the most mysterious of visitors, attitudes toward glory in life and the afterlife. Additionally, differences are noticeable in smaller instances, one of the most interesting being the treatment of male expressions of emotion and, in particular, crying. Various times during the book the main protagonists (Odysseus and Telemachus) openly cry in front of others. In Modern culture boys are typically discouraged from showing their emotions as they grow older due to traditional ideas about masculinity and gender roles, it is seen as a weakness.…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Judge strikes striking similarities with the devil through his characteristics and actions. The most interesting aspect of the Judge, however, is how little he is in the novel, that is being present in each part of the text. The Judge is not mentioned for most of the story, yet if he were removed the story would fall apart. This critical role of the Judge in “The Natural” is similar to the role of the Devil in the bible. The Devil is not mentioned in the bible very often, there are some passages but not particularly many.…

    • 981 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In contrast, at the end of the story, he tries to rely on Faith to take him away from the dealings with the Devil, which came as a nasty surprise to him that Faith also was in league with the Devil and could not save him. Also, he points out everyone else in the village as faithless, but does not mention himself. Next, the Old Man, who symbolizes the devil, represents the epitome of what humankind is trying to stay away from, but the temptation proves to be too great for anyone. While symbolizing only evil, he ironically is the only character in the story that is not a hypocrite. Overall, what he says…

    • 1531 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is 2017 and The Odyssey, by Homer is still being read by teenagers many years after it was written because of the stories ability to encourage imagination, teach students and encourages hard work and determination. “Homer’s illustrious language may bring scenes from his epic poem, “The Odyssey,” to life, but looking at art inspired by the story is still a fun extra” (The). The colorful and imaginative works of art showcase the imagination throughout the story. The pictures inspire teenagers showing them that having imagination can create amazing works of art and the inspiring hints is why teens are continuing to read the story. “The Odyssey is an example of all western read novels” (Alexander).…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The gods play major and many roles throughout Odysseus’ journey in The Odyssey, written by Homer. They intervene with Odysseus’ journey throughout the epic, whether the impact is positive or negative. This affects what challenges Odysseus’ would have had to face on his own, or how much his journey time is extended or decreased. Overall, the gods had the most power and control over how easy or difficult his journey and the challenges he faced were. However the gods get involved leads his journey to being made both harder and easier, depending on his relationship with the god.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In today’s world, fate is considered to be a human-made construct that describes the succession of events in life that cannot be controlled; it is the opposite of free will. However, to the ancient Greeks, fate could absolutely be controlled. The humans often clashed with the Greek gods when trying to secure their destiny; humans believed they had free will, but the gods knew they had complete control over the people. This confrontation between humans and gods is seen throughout The Odyssey. The gods frequently alter situations the humans are in to change their outcomes while the people try to deal with their new situations and take back the control over their own lives.…

    • 1767 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays