Odysseus and Ulysses
In O Brother, Where Art Thou, Ulysses Everett McGill is fairly obviously intended to parallel Odysseus. In many ways, they are alike. In others, they are rather different.
To me, the biggest difference between Odysseus and Ulysses is their fatal flaw. Odysseus' flaw is pride, that he must reveal his name to Polyphemus, or that his emotions get the better of him and he acts rashly. Ulysses, however, struggles with vanity instead. We can see this with his insistence on getting Dapper Dan pomade instead of Fop, or when he wakes up after the sirens, immediately worrying about his hair. It's implied that the Sheriff was able to track Everett and company because of Everett's distinctive pomade. (At the end, we see the bloodhound sniffing in Everett's massive stash of Dapper Dan).
While Odysseus and Ulysses both have a way with words, in general Odysseus is better with them. Odysseus is very quick to fabricate elaborate stories (as much a storyteller as a liar), but Everett usually tries persuade or demonstrate his intelligence instead. Odysseus never gets caught in a lie and called out, but this happens to Everett a number of times, most notably when he is forced to reveal that there was no treasure. Another time Ulysses' wits fail him is in the first scene with Big Dan. Everett claims to be "an astute observer of the human condition," but he is fooled by Big Dan's words (perhaps Everett thought he had found a kindred spirit?), and completely blindsided when Big Dan clubs Delmar and then him. (He doesn't even try to move out of the way -- he's still eating)
I feel that perhaps as the scope of the narrative is reduced from an epic journey through the whole Mediterranean in the Odyssey to a comedic journey through Missouri in O Brother, the heroes are reduced as well. "Godlike Odysseus" becomes a mortal man, eminently fallible but perhaps more relatable because of it.
To me, the biggest difference between Odysseus and Ulysses is their fatal flaw. Odysseus' flaw is pride, that he must reveal his name to Polyphemus, or that his emotions get the better of him and he acts rashly. Ulysses, however, struggles with vanity instead. We can see this with his insistence on getting Dapper Dan pomade instead of Fop, or when he wakes up after the sirens, immediately worrying about his hair. It's implied that the Sheriff was able to track Everett and company because of Everett's distinctive pomade. (At the end, we see the bloodhound sniffing in Everett's massive stash of Dapper Dan).
While Odysseus and Ulysses both have a way with words, in general Odysseus is better with them. Odysseus is very quick to fabricate elaborate stories (as much a storyteller as a liar), but Everett usually tries persuade or demonstrate his intelligence instead. Odysseus never gets caught in a lie and called out, but this happens to Everett a number of times, most notably when he is forced to reveal that there was no treasure. Another time Ulysses' wits fail him is in the first scene with Big Dan. Everett claims to be "an astute observer of the human condition," but he is fooled by Big Dan's words (perhaps Everett thought he had found a kindred spirit?), and completely blindsided when Big Dan clubs Delmar and then him. (He doesn't even try to move out of the way -- he's still eating)
I feel that perhaps as the scope of the narrative is reduced from an epic journey through the whole Mediterranean in the Odyssey to a comedic journey through Missouri in O Brother, the heroes are reduced as well. "Godlike Odysseus" becomes a mortal man, eminently fallible but perhaps more relatable because of it.
Yeah, Everett is much less of a classical hero than Odysseus. I think that's probably a choice on the Coen brothers' part -- with comedy, it comes with the territory, as you mention at the end. The audience needs someone to laugh at.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested by the fact that when the writers need Odysseus to act fallible, they pull other scenes from the Odyssey and switch up the characters' roles. For example, the scene with Big Dan strongly evokes the beginning of Bloodshed, because Everett is still eating and doesn't react at all to Big Dan swinging a club at him.
And when Everett gets pummeled by the "suitor," it's evocative of the suitors' behavior in Bloodshed, in general. I can't think of any characters in the Odyssey who are vain like Everett, but all the little jokes about Everett's hair are well worth the lack of Odyssey callbacks.
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ReplyDeleteYou bring up some good points. I had not thought before about how Odysseus and Ulysses have different fatal flaws. And, while I agree with you that Odysseus is slightly better than Everett at wordplay, you have to admit that Everett's eloquence is much more pronounced and unique in the setting of his journey (Mississippi in the 30's) as opposed to Odysseus' setting.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to point out that although vanity isn't Odysseus' fatal flaw, Athena always emphasizes it. She always makes him look better that he supposedly does. Perhaps without Athena's touch-ups Odysseus' pride would be transformed into a concern for his vanity. But I agree with your points made thus far, Odysseus and Ulysses have stark differences that were surprising to the viewer.
ReplyDeleteThere's a fine line between vanity and pride, perhaps--vanity could be seen as a singular manifestation of pride. You make a good point that, in the film, Everett's humorous obsession with his "coiffure" stands in nicely for Odysseus more broad kind of pride (Everett is less of an egotist, we might say). But there is surely some vanity in Odysseus as well: we hear about his gorgeous curly locks on more than one occasion, and Athena is always lavishing splendor to make him look even more fine. When the Phaeacians imply that he might not be such a great athlete, he flips out and challenges them to all the contests in every category. His pride is quite vain in a number of ways.
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