Q3 Benchmark

Everett Odysseus compare contrast

            In the Odyssey, Odysseus, the Greek hero, has a 10 year journey home where he undergoes many trials and challenges. In the movie O brother where art thou, Everett, the main character, has to go through similar challenges to Odysseus. Despite Odysseus being a hero, Everett had characteristics that in some ways made him more heroic than Odysseus.

            Both Odysseus and Everett had very similar stories in their journey home. This is because the movie O brother where art thou was based off of the Odyssey. Both Everett and Odysseus faced many of the same problems, such as the Sirens, and the Cyclops Polyphemus. For example, Odysseus had over 100 suitors courting his wife because they thought he was dead. Everett also had a suitor, but there was only one. Another example of this was changing the Sirens, who were women who would lure sailors to them by singing. The movie changed them to women who sang and seduced Everett and his men and took in Pete, one of the crew, for the bail. A third example was the Cyclops Polyphemus. He was changed into a large bible salesman with an eye patch, who robbed Everett and his men. While Everett and Odysseus had similar things happen to them, they didn’t always act the same way, or get the same end result because, even though they were similar in many ways, they were different people. Odysseus would sometimes look for only the fighting way through, whereas Everett might seek to trick someone, or escape the problem altogether.

Odysseus was mainly known for being two things, clever, and a hero, but he was also very prideful and vain. During the Trojan War, he fought with the Greeks for 10 years. At the end of the 10^th year, he had the idea for the Trojan horse. The idea was to build a massive wooden horse, and have the best Greek warriors go inside it. They would act like it was a gift saying that they surrendered. Then the Trojans would take it inside the castle, and when it was night, the Greeks would leave the horse and attack Troy from the inside. It worked and that was how the Greeks defeated Troy. Another example of Odysseus being clever was when he was captured by the Cyclops. He got him drunk, and when the Cyclops fell asleep, he stabbed him in the eye. The next day, because the Cyclops was blind, Odysseus and his men were able to escape underneath sheep as the sheep left to go out into the field. But Odysseus can also be vain and prideful. For example, when he escaped from the Cyclops, he yelled out “Cyclops, if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so – say Odysseus, raider of cities, he gouged out your eye, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca!” (Book 9, lines 558 – 562), so the Cyclops would know who blinded him, and he would get credit for it. But the Cyclops throws a boulder at the ship, because he heard where it was from Odysseus’s voice, and then knowing his name, was able to curse Odysseus, and ask Poseidon to make Odysseus’s journey home as difficult as possible.

            Everett, like Odysseus was also vain. When they were escaping from a burning barn, he wanted to make a detour so he could get his hair gel. This would have gotten him killed, but his crew convinced him not to. This shows that even though he could be stubborn, he could also be convinced to do something. He also liked to show that he was smart by using big words in every sentence. He was also somewhat humble, because he could admit a mistake, and at one point in the film, asked his crew for forgiveness, whereas Odysseus never did.

            Everett and Odysseus had many similarities. For example, they both were “smart” and were known for it. They were also both vain, and always tried to make themselves look better whenever possible, whatever the cost. They also had many differences. Odysseus was much more of a “fighting” person, and always wanted to solve problems with a sword. An example of this was when he tried to fight Scylla, who was immortal. “But now I cleared my mind of Circe’s orders – cramping my style, urging me not to arm at all.” (Book 12, lines 45 – 46), he went up on deck with his some of his crew, and lost his 6 best men. Other than that, he almost always “won” his fights, like when he went past the sirens he chose to listen to them while his crew tied him to the mast, and put wax in their ears. “They bound me hand and foot in the tight ship – erect at the mast block” (Book 12, lines 194-195). Everett, on the other hand, would usually be on the losing side of fights. When he met the Sirens, Pete was captured. When he met the Cyclops, he was robbed. Everett was also much more humble than Odysseus. Odysseus may have shown some remorse occasionally, but he never actually apologized for anything he did wrong. When Everett told Pete and Delmar that he had lied about the treasure, he apologized, showing that he could be humble.

            While Odysseus may have been a hero, Everett, the protagonist in the film O brother where art thou, was in some ways more heroic than Odysseus. Though Odysseus and Everett were proud people, Everett could be humble, and admit his mistakes. Though Odysseus and Everett were both vain, Everett could be convinced that there were things more important than himself. Though Odysseus and Everett were both the leaders in their respective groups, Everett cared more about his men, whereas Odysseus would recklessly answer to any challenge, no matter the harm to his men. In all, any humility and being humble could make someone greater than any hero who was proud and self-centered.