Common Themes In O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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Themes are usually the backbones of the story’s overall plot. A theme is the general message or statement about a subject that all the elements of a story or a poem work together to develop. Themes are important in the storylines of different medians because without them, a story would only include random events and characters; there would be no real plot. For Homer’s epic, The Odyssey, and the Coen brother’s movie, O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?, the same rules apply. The themes in both of these medians make both storylines meaningful and give the character’s purpose. Although O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?, a film by the Coen brothers, and The Odyssey portray these themes in somewhat different ways, both medians include the themes of religion and …show more content…
It is said that they should be respected and never defied. Religion is all about respect for the gods. A major difference between the epic and the film is that the main characters have different feelings about God. For example, Odysseus obeys every one of the god’s wishes, like when he is told by the prophet of the Underworld, Tiresias that he must travel to the land that has never touched water, and pray to Poseidon in order for a peaceful death when he gets older. In O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?, Everett “remain[s] unaffiliated,” even when Pete and Delmar are enchanted by the people singing and getting baptised in the lake (Coen 2000). Everett’s reaction to Pete and Delmar being “saved,” does not show a firm belief in God. It instead shows that he relies more on knowledge than what the gods have in store for him. Both main antagonists show similar feelings towards the gods in both the book and the film. Neither Polyphemus nor Big Dan Teague care about the gods and their wishes. Polyphemus thinks that all cyclopes are superior to the gods and should not fear the wrath of the gods, as he explains to Odysseus. Big Dan Teague thinks “it’s all about money” when he tries to rationalize his actions of tricking and stealing from Everett and Delmar (Coen 2000). Even though these villains say they do not believe in the power of the gods, they both ironically use the gods to achieve their goals. …show more content…
Kleos is an ancient Greek value that means glory in battle and was desired by many Greek warriors. Kleos was earned by warriors accomplishing great feats and usually came after their deaths. In the film, there is one particular character who is very concerned about about how he will be remembered. His name is George “Baby Face” Nelson. He no longer wants to be remembered as “Baby Face,” so he decides that he will rob banks to get himself recognized. This is somewhat similar to how Odysseus is angered when Laodamas and Broadsea insult him because he does not want to participate in their games, even though Demodocus, the Phaeacians bard, Odysseus’ stories depict him as a strong fighter who was even able to single-handedly defeat the cyclops, Polyphemus. The two young men of Aeaea still think no “greater glory attends a man” than when he wins a battle (Homer . Despite the fact that Achilles’ tells Odysseus the “he’d rather slave on earth for another man” than be remembered as a great soldier and stuck in the Underworld forever, George Nelson thinks that getting the death penalty and being remembered as “the criminal of the century” will be the most important thing to happen in his life (Homer 11.556) (Coen 2000). Achilles and George Nelson’s experiences with glory are very different. Nelson still wanted to be known, even though he was facing the death penalty, but Achilles was wiser in his
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