Homer’s Odyssey and the Coen Brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou?

PARALLELS

Complete the matrix by filling in the characters and events from O Brother that parallel these Odyssey characters and events.

Odyssey character /

O Brother character

1. Odysseus
2. Penelope
3. The suitors
4. Polyphemus
5. Teiresias
6. Sirens
7. Men being turned into pigs
8. Poseidon

9. Select one character from the film and write a paragraph that explains how this character is like one of the characters in the Odyssey. Be sure to use specific examples from both the epic and the film.

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CULTURE AND THEMES

As we read the Odyssey, we were able to deduce many of the Greek beliefs about gender, civilization, religion, and leadership simply by watching how they were played out in the epic. Give four examples of cultural understanding that you gained from the Odyssey. Then give their equivalents in O Brother.

Topic / Example in Odyssey / Conclusion about Greek culture / Example in O Brother / Conclusion about Southern culture
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