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. 

A Unique Type of Hero

Most fictional heroes are created to display a few unique characteristics that make them different than any other hero. Superman can fly, the Flash has super speed, Harry Potter is a wizard, each person while they often follow similar developments have something unique about them. These characteristics are defined at the discretion of the author, however in the case of Sherlock Holmes, there are many iterations of his character each with a slightly different take on the original persona written by Arthur Conan Doyle. I haven’t had the pleasure to read many of the original works, but I still would like to look at the modern versions of this hero.

On the surface, Sherlock hardly has any distinguishing characteristics, he has no super powers, and from his job description he is just another detective trying to solve a crime. Does this make every detective a hero in some way? I guess in a sense it does, in that they all work towards a goal of solving murders and other crime and often face setbacks and opposition during their “journey”. So what sets apart Sherlock from any other detective? Every iteration of Sherlock characterizes him as incredibility intelligent and possessing almost supernatural deductive talents. Sherlock uses these talents to rush into danger and solve crimes that to a normal audience seem unsolvable.

In the recent BBC TV Series Sherlock, a different approach to this character is taken. In a more modern setting, Sherlock’s deductive reasoning and intellect is taken to a whole new level, so much so that it comes at a cost. The cost being that Sherlock seems to lack all emotion and seems to almost have sociopathic qualities. He is incredibly impulsive and lacks regard for the safety of himself and others. There seems to be nothing heroic about such a character. Imagine a madman running around the city chasing after murders and trying to solve crimes without being attached to any law enforcement agency. Such a man would have no place in our society, he would constantly be putting himself and others in danger, and in a way acting as a vigilante.

Yet, as we watch this TV series we can’t help but encourage such behavior. We constantly hope that Sherlock is able to solve the next case even faster than before. However, what makes this show enjoyable is that it depicts no win scenarios, (Spoiler) but in one case Sherlock kills a man in cold blood rather than let him get away with what he did. This is not a very heroic act, yet we continue to hope that Sherlock won’t face the consequences. Sherlock embodies a very unique type of hero that blurs the lines of justice.

Impossible Choices

When we examine the pivotal moment of Beloved we can notice that it is similar in a lot of ways to the critical moment in Native Son. Both characters are placed into a position where they have to make an impossible choice. Bigger either had to choose being accused of rape which would most likely result in death, or killing Mary and having some hope to move on. Similarly, Sethe had to choose between being captured by Schoolteacher and going back to Sweet home, or kill her children.

Both characters picked the choice with most ambiguity. Bigger knew the consequences of being caught, and so rather than accepting that we would be caught he chose what, in his mind, was the better option. He acted completely out of instinct and self-preservation and so we cannot blame him for doing so.  

Sethe was placed into a very similar position when the four horsemen showed up. As soon as she saw them she acted instinctively and made a choice. Her only other option was to let Schoolteacher take her children to Sweet Home and live a life of slavery. Sethe knew that his option was a terrible one and so she chose what, in her mind, was the better alternative. Which was to kill her own children. In my opinion we are not allowed to judge whether this action was justified or not, and frankly it doesn’t matter if we do. The point of both of these passages is to show that these characters are placed in impossible situations and are forced to make a choice. It is to protest against slavery and oppression, but more specifically to demonstrate the absolute horror of slavery.

Another demonstration of this horror is the portrayal of the characters in the eyes of white characters. In Beloved, we get insight into the thoughts of the four white horsemen and the way in which they see Sethe. When they discover that she has killed one of her own children their immediate reaction is to view her as an animal. Not only do they see her as property, but they literally hunt her down. Just like hunters hunting down prey, they view her as something similar to a beast.

This dynamic is also present in Native Son, where we see Bigger being hunted down by the police for the murder of Mary. We see Bigger running away from the police on the rooftops until he is finally caught by the “hunters” and thrown in prison. Both novels are protest novels attempting to demonstrate the horrors and portrayals of slavery and discrimination. 

Minstrelsy in Ellison, Hurston, and Beatty

All of the books this semester have had some degree of similarity, and we used those similarities to compare characters plots and themes. One very unique theme present in each of the novels is minstrelsy. While often not specifically stated or explained the ideas and notions come up very often. However, each author has a different take on the implications and use of minstrelsy.

Hurston’s outlook on Minstrelsy seems to be the most positive. When Janie is living in Eatonville there are many scenes where we see the use of minstrel entertainment. The gossip and comedy that occurs on the porches is a prime example of black “performers” entertaining the white readers. Hurston later also idealizes the muck and shows how the farmers live in the moment and are always happy and having fun. Despite working under a white landlord, Hurston chooses to focus on the pastoral aspects of glades. Hurston is criticized by Richard Wright for this exact idea. Wright says that black writers should be continuously advocating for more rights and protesting the system. He criticizes Hurston for employing such an idealized view of sharecropping without any mention of suffering or hardship. Wright makes his stance on minstrelsy very clear, that every African American novel should be protesting the ideas that minstrelsy creates, not promote them like Hurston does.

Ellison’s narrator encounters a blackface cast iron figurine, and he freaks out. The narrator is appalled that Mary would keep such an offensive object in her house. The figure depicts a performer with a large grin. While the minstrel performer is supposed to be happy, it seems like the grin could also be seen as choking. After freakishly beating the figurine into smithereens, he packs it up in his briefcase and attempts to get rid of it. Every time he attempted to get rid of the briefcase someone ends up returning it to him. He is trying to get rid of the racial stereotypes put upon him, but it just keeps coming back to him no matter how hard he tries.

A similar dynamic can be seen with Gunnar in White Boy Shuffle. Despite his seemingly successful life, Gunnar is very apathetic in his basketball career. He always feels like the oddball out. Even though the white kids in his school treat him well, he is still treated in a special way. Even though he is put on a pedestal and everyone idolizes him, he feels isolated. This is very similar to the narrator’s experiences; No matter how successful he is Gunnar can’t get away from feeling isolated and treated differently because of his race. Beatty even illustrates this point by creating a satirical reverse minstrelsy dynamic. Gunnar dresses himself in “whiteface” before his game against Phillis Wheatley. Gunnar describes his endeavor “While the whites pep-rallied over banana pancakes, I planned my first rebellious act.”(Beatty 163) This original minstrel dynamic displayed white actors portraying black people because black people were deemed to be inferior actors. Gunnar being the best player on the team dresses as a white player implying that he is stooping down to an inferior level of play.  This seems to be Gunnar’s attempt to defy the white power structure and try to “fit in”. Of course this entire seen is made into a satire, just showing the absurdity of the situation, and how it is impossible for Gunnar to get away from the racialized stereotypes enforced on him.  

Gravitating Towards Gunnar

Books are very unpredictable, sometimes they are just awful, other times a book just clicks, and you can’t put it down. For me, The White Boy Shuffle clicked in an instant. I’m not trying to be cliché, but Beatty’s use of humor and Gunnar’s sarcastic joking character really made the book come alive. For me most fictional books and characters seemed so distant. Good authors, like Wright for example, are able to create situations where I can feel emotion or create situations that I can relate to, but Beatty does this and more. Beatty goes the basic empathetic style, and creates a character that we really want to be around, someone that we want to get to know better.

People in this class describe him as the “funny, cool black guy” (28). Characters in the novel gravitate towards Gunnar and I seemed to be drawn to him as well. Within the first few pages, I already knew I loved Gunnar. Gunnar’s book “Watermelanin” had me laughing from the first page. While the title in and of itself is funny, it has also “sold 126 million copies”. Beatty surrounds Gunnar with an incredible aura of satire that makes every scene seem like an occurrence that we see every day. We know that a book of poetry would never actually sell 126 million copies, but because the way he presents it is so nonchalant and direct we end up wanting to believe him.

I also feel Gunnar’s character is very tailored to our generation and age range. Gunnar uses “swear words” to the point that they seem normal. In high school I feel this same way, I hear the language so often that it feels normal to hear it every day. Gunnar even uses the language in a way that I hear all the time. His purpose for using foul language isn’t exclusively to insult or belittle others. Most of the time it is for comedic value. Like when he writes his letter to David Schoenfeld he ends the letter with “Shalom, motherf***er” (40). This is exactly the type of language I see every day in high school.

Also the fact that Gunnar uses such language at such a young age makes it seem even more satirical. Gunnar seems to be so mature, and instead of using his maturity as a way to put himself above everyone, he uses it to make everyone like him. Gunnar, despite his very nonchalant carefree attitude, is very intelligent which furthers my respect and attachment to him. In the third grade Ms. Cegeny asked Gunnar “what was the last thing Melissa read” (29), and even though Gunnar was daydreaming and talking to Cecilia he was able to summarize the passage Melissa read. All of Gunnar’s qualities make him a very entertaining character that keeps me turning. While I am curious to see where the plot takes us, I am more interested in the humor and witty comments that Gunnar is sure to keep bringing to the table. 

Is love a choice or a feeling?

Janie's view of love and sexuality is constantly changing and adapting. When her story begins Janie is first discovering her sexuality. As she is sitting under the pear tree, she sees the bee pollinating the blossoms and she enters this stupor and for the first time she understands that love and marriage are a natural occurrence. This view is contrasted very heavily by the view of the Grandmother. Because of the Grandmother's experiences as a child, she sees that she needs to protect Janie and marry her off as soon as she reaches womanhood. She the Grandmother see's Janie kissing Johnny Taylor, she knows it is time for her to marry someone safe. The grandmother views marriage and love as something that should be arranged, rather than something natural.

When Janie marries Logan Killicks she says "He look like some ole skullhead in de grave yard". She associates Killicks with death, as opposed to her view of love which is full of life and nature. When Joe Starks comes along, he is the better option by far. While she knows their love isn't perfect, she is willing to give it a go, rather than living and working for Killicks her whole life. For the first few years of their marriage it is implied that they had fun. But now that fun had begun to dwindle. " The bed was no longer a daisy-field for her and Joe to play in. It was a place where she went and laid down when she was sleepy and tired." Janie's expectation for love had been fulfilled for the first seven years, but now that Joe has begun to mistreat her she begins to look for something else.


After Joe dies, she immediately feels like a large burden has been lifted and that she has a lot more freedom. Janie has felt the two extremes of a marriage. Killicks worked her too hard and treated her literally like an animal-- something to do the farm work. On the other hand, Joe treated her too "special" and she felt isolated from the town and she still had to work too hard. Even though Joe mistreated her she still learned something in their marriage. As Joe was dying, Janie tried to mend their relationship even though she didn't feel that spark of love like she did initially. When she tries to help Joe it is showing that she is trying to love him out of a choice, instead of pursuing love just as a natural feeling. This shows that maybe Janie's view of love is beginning to change.  
I bet as we see the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake progress, we will see Janie's view of love change even more.