Everett and Odysseus

O, Brother, Where Art Thou presented an excellent parody of The Odyssey and I particularly enjoyed the adaptation of many of the problems into a more modern presentation. The Odyssey has been a popular epic poem since its creation, but it is possible that a lot of the meaning and familiarity with the topics is lost on us because of the cultural differences.

In my opinion the best parallel was between Ulysses Everett McGill and Odysseus. In the Odyssey we are told over and over that Odysseus is “tactful” “great” and “wise”. It often seems to be over exaggerated and makes Odysseus to look extra heroic. Odysseus is also made out to be even more heroic by contrast of his crew. The crew is described in the opening “He [Odysseus] could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove—the blind fools”. (Homer 1.10) Similarly, Everett is accompanied by Pete and Delmar who are both not very bright and blindly follow Everett.

Everett tricks them the entire time saying they are going after a treasure but really Everett is just trying to stop Penny from getting remarried. Everett tells them that he needed them to help him escape and to help him through his journey. Odysseus also would not have been able to get home if not for his crew, and most of them die because Odysseus convinced them to follow him and help him get home. Both Odysseus and Everett tricked their “crews” in order to get home.

The best similarity between Everett and Odysseus is the use of pride. Odysseus, as we have seen in many scenes, loves to boast and even trash talk people who oppose him. Everett similarly has a very witty tongue and often displays his intelligence. Like when Pete questions Everett’s leadership he responds with “Well Pete, I figured it should be the one with the capacity for abstract thought. But if that ain't the consensus view, then hell, let's put it to a vote.” Everett also has Odysseus’ pride which is epitomized by his obsession over his hair. Throughout the movie is concerned about his hair, he only uses Dapper Dan hair gel, and wears hairnets to sleep. Just like Odysseus’ pride was his downfall with the Cyclops, Everett leaves a hairnet in their camp one night and so the sheriff continues to follow him.

Athena the Author

As the story progresses, we gain more confirmation that Athena is constantly orchestrating the whole the story, while still playing a large role in the story. This arrangement becomes most obvious during the scenes leading up to the climatic slaughter of the suitors. We know from other passages that Athena’s continues to test Odysseus at every turn. When Odysseus first arrives at Ithaca Athena tests his wit and patience by shrouding his view of the island. Odysseus concocts a solid fake identity and passes the Athena’s test. Once Odysseus is reunited with Telemachus, they plot to get rid of all the suitors. Telemachus expresses some desire to spare some of the suitors, but Athena tells Odysseus that he has to kill them all. Odysseus doesn’t question Athena and so they plot to kill all of them.

Once they are inside of the palace and the plan is in place, Athena takes a back seat to watch it all go down. It seems that everything has come to a perfect ending for Athena’s story: Both Telemachus and Odysseus have completed their journeys to heroism. Telemachus is even described as “Prince Telemachus, son of King Odysseus…”. It seems that the weeping and fearful boy we saw at the beginning of the story has reached the peak of his development and “come of age”. Odysseus’ climatic reveal and theatrical speech almost seems like a performance put on to please Athena.

However, it seemed that Athena’s perfect entertainment production has a little hiccup. Even though we just saw Telemachus reach a new height, he makes the mistake of leaving the storage room door open allowing the suitors to get some weapons. This causes a moment of fear in Odysseus and he asks for Athena/Mentor’s help. After he asks for help “Athena hit new heights of rage, she lashed out at Odysseus now with blazing accusations: “Where’s it gone, Odysseus—your power, your fighting heart? The great soldier who fought for famous white-armed Helen, battling Trojans nine long years – nonstop, no mercy…” (22. 446). It seems that Athena’s plan to slaughter all the suitors as gone awry and now she has a little miniature blow up at Odysseus for messing up her moment.

Yet she still turns it into an experience for Odysseus and Telemachus. “But she gave no all-out turning of the tide, not yet, she kept on testing Odysseus and his gallant son, putting their force and fighting heart to proof” (22. 446). Even though her ideal fight didn’t happen, she was still able to continue to shape the story and make the bloodbath into a test for Odysseus and Telemachus to prove their bravery and wit.