Choose one of the following quotes from the movie and then, in a comment, explain what, if anything, it has to do with the Odyssey. Please refer directly to the text if possible.
1. Delmar: [As George "Babyface" Nelson fires his tommy gun into a herd of cattle] Oh, George. Not the livestock!
2. Everett: The treasure is still there boys, believe me.
- Delmar: [about the Blind Seer] But how'd he know about the treasure?
- Everett: I don't know Delmar. The blind are reputed to possess sensitivities compensating for their lack of sight, even to the point of developing paranormal psychic powers. Now, clearly seeing into the future would fall neatly into that category; it's not so surprising then that an organism deprived of its earthly vision...
- Pete: He said we wouldn't get it. He said we wouldn't get the treasure we seek on account of our ob-stac-les.
4. Penny Wharvey McGill: Vernon here's got a job. Vernon's got prospects. He's bona fide. What are you?
5. Blind Seer: You seek a great fortune, you three who are now in chains. You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek. But first... first you must travel a long and difficult road, a road fraught with peril. Mm-hmm. You shall see thangs, wonderful to tell. You shall see a... a cow... on the roof of a cotton house, ha. And, oh, so many startlements. I cannot tell you how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your reward. Though the road may wind, yea, your hearts grow weary, still shall ye follow them, even unto your salvation.
6. Pete [to Evertt]: Since we been followin' your lead, we ain't got nothing but trouble.
This movie is an obvious adaptation of The Odyssey. Three men, (Odysseus and his crew), have escaped from jail and are determined to find the "treasure" that Everett tells them about. In quote one, as Delmar says that George Nelson should not have have shot the cattle, Mr. Nelson went on shooting. This relates to the Odyssey because Tyresius, the blind prophet, tells Odysseus that he and his men not to eat Apolo's cattle, but they do anyways. Although, in the Odyssey, the men succumbed to their long hunger, while George Nelson only shot the cows because he was crazy.
ReplyDeleteWhen Pete said to Everett "since we been followin' your lead, we ain't got nothing but trouble", it relates to the Odyssey because it makes a connection between when Eurylochus is complaining to Odysseus on Circe's island about Odysseus being selfish, and how it all his fault that so many men had already died based on his behavior. The quote, said to Odysseus in book ten, makes the link between the leadership of both Everett and Odysseus, explaining how both of them have a selfish and vain side to their personalities, and not just perfect leadership skills.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ulysses Everett McGill says "Me an' the old lady are gonna pick up the pieces and retie the knot, mixaphorically speaking." Shows how in this adaptation they make fun of Odysseus and how he tries to use big words in his normal conversations. He is expecting his wife to be loyal and waiting for him when he gets home and he wants to tie the knot which is a euphemism for get married. And by saying Mixaphorically shows that he does not know the word metaphorically which sounds like a word Odysseus would definitely say. By calling her an old lady is also a bit crude because Odysseus would never have said that about his wife Penelope even though it is understood that after so many years they are both much older since when they last saw each other. They are both coming home to their wives though the movie adaptation shows another way in which things could go when the "Odysseus" returns.
ReplyDeleteIn book 12 Odysseus says "not one man among us-blind in his reckless ways-will slaughter an ox or ram." This could be compared to Delmar saying "Oh, George. Not the livestock!" However, Odysseus' men kill the cattle of the sun out of hunger, George Nelson shoots them out of dislike. Another difference is that in The Odyssey, Odysseus speaks on behalf of the livestock. In "O Brother Where Art Thou" Delmar, one of Everett's "crew" tells George not to kill the cows.
ReplyDelete"Oh, George. Not the livestock!" Indeed, slaughtering livestock seems to never be a good idea, especially in the case of the Odyssey, in which killing and sacrificing some cattle to the gods results in carnage, blood, and many other horrible,graphic, and unfortunate twists of fate. I decided to go with the quote, "Father Zeus! the rest of you blissful gods who n ever die - Left on their own, look what a monstrous thing my crew concocted!"(p. 282 l. 398), because it is a reaction, much like Delmar's, which comments on the negativity of the action of decimating cattle in each story. Odysseus plucks the short straw, however.
ReplyDelete"Oh George. Not the livestock!" said Delmar.
ReplyDeleteIn "O' Brother. Where art thou?," Everett, Delmar, and Pete meet George Nelson, who had just recently robbed a bank. George was shooting at the cops when he and "the boys" drove past a pasture filled with cows. George said that the one thing he hated more then the cops were cows, so he shot at the cows. This is when Delmar said the above quote. This forshandows that George will have great misfortune in the future. We know this because the Odyssey describes this event to us in more detail. Odysseus and his men were warned not to eat the cattle of Helios. His men disobeyed and harmed the cattle, like George Nelson, and were killed afterwards. This tells us that something bad is going to happen to George Nelson.
In O Brother Where Art Thou, Everett, Pete, and Delmar hitch a ride with a man who has just robbed a bank, George Delmar. While driving, the men come across some cattle, and George runs the car into one and kills it. Before George ran into the cow, Delmar said, "Oh, George. Not the livestock!" At this moment Delmar takes on the role of Tiresias. In The Odyssey, Tiresias warns Odysseus ahead of time not to kill or eat the cattle, and in O Brother Where Art Thou, Delmar warns George to stay away from the livestock. Also, in both stories the warnings are ignored and at least one cow is killed.
ReplyDelete"Oh, George. Not the livestock!" Delmar's comment is similar to Odysseus's comment after his crew slaughter Helios's sacred cattle. "Look what monstrous thing my crew has concocted!" is a very long way of saying, "Look what you did!" Odysseus is fully aware that the god's wraith will be on him now, along with Poseidon's. The chaos and mayhem that George "babyface" Nelson causes is similar to the chaos that Everett, Delmar, and Pete should expect, just like Odyseus and his crew. Neither Odysseus nor Everett actually commit the crimes, but nonetheless they are both punished. Odysseus was warned not to stop and the island, and Everett should not have hitched a ride with a bank robber. (He aides him in robbery later, adding to his crime.)
ReplyDeleteI chose the line where Pete says to Everett, "Since we been followin' your lead, we ain't got nothing but trouble." This relates to the Odyssey when Odysseus has just returned from overcoming the bewitching nymph, Circe. He tells his crew they should dock their ships and go into Circe's palace for meals and rest, but Eurylochus doubts him saying, "She'll turn us all into pigs or wolves or lions mad to guard that palace of hers- by force, I tell you- just as the Cyclops trapped our comrades in his lair with hotheaded Odysseus right beside them all- thanks to this man's rashness they died too!" Eurylochus says this becuase many men had already died, becuase of Odysseus' cunning plans with the Cyclops and now with Circe and he didn't trust him with his life. Similar to "O Brother Where Art Thou", Pete doesn't trust Everett with his life, because throughout the short time they have been on the run from prison, they have encountered many obstacles and troubles.
ReplyDelete1. When Babyface Nelson is running from the cops he decides to shoot some livestock. This is a direct adapation of the Odyssey. Specifically, in the Odyssey, Odysseus and his men die of hunger on Helios' island. Odysseus' men give in and eat the cows, even though they are not suppose to. This ties in with Babyface Nelson shooting the cows. This is an adapation because it isnt directly similar but is noticeably similar.
ReplyDeleteIn the quote, "Oh George. Not the livestock!", we can see that Delmar's request was similar to Odysseus' request for his men not to kill the goats and the sheep. However, in the Odyssey there is more of a consequence for the men killing Helios' sacred cows and rams, while in the movie, after the scene, there is no real consequence that comes from this and their adventure goes on better than Odysseus' adventure.
ReplyDeleteThe second quote that shows Everett saying that, "The treasure is still there" is an adaptation to the Odyssey. When Odysseus went to the Underworld, he met Tiresias. This "blind prophetic figure" foretold that his wife and son, were still safe in Ithaca. As relating to Everett, the treasure isn't a treasure of gold and wealth. No, it's his family that he had to leave behind since he was taken into prison. The "Tiresias" in the movie was the blind man that was moving his hand pushed, single man train along the tracks. Another similarity that is shown a tad further in the quote was Delmar questioning to how the blind man knew about the treasure. Odysseus was wandering the same thing in his head when Tiresias told Him that his family was still in Ithaca
ReplyDeletePenny Wharvey McGill: Vernon here's got a job. Vernon's got prospects. He's bona fide. What are you?
ReplyDeleteIn "O' Brother, Where Art Thou?," an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, Penny Wharvey McGill obviously represents Penelope. Like Penelope, her husband has been away from her for a long time and she has been left with the option to stay loyal or re-marry. Penelope in the Odyssey never re-marries before Odysseus returns. However, in this adaptation, Penny has re-married to a man named Vernon. Vernon represents one of the suitors. In the quote above, Penny is telling Everett, who represents Odysseus, why she's married to Vernon. I believe that Everett and Penny would have had a good marriage like Odysseus and Penelope before Everett had to leave. But because Everett was gone so long, Penny forgot all of his redeeming qualities. She had given up on him. She decided that marrying a suitor like Vernon would be a much better option. Penelope came very close to this point and had even set up a final game to select a new husband, but never remarried because Odysseus returned in time. It could have happened that Penelope, like Penny, could have given up completely on Odysseus and remarried a suitor as well.
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ReplyDeleteWhen Nelson fires his tommy gun into a herd of cattle] Oh, George. Not the livestock! This relates to the Odyssey when Odysseus and his men are told not to eat the cattle. Its the same when Delmare dosnt want him to shoot the catlle and the same as when Odysseus tells his men not to eat them
ReplyDelete1. Delmar: [As George "Babyface" Nelson fires his tommy gun into a herd of cattle] Oh, George. Not the livestock!
ReplyDeleteIn the quote above it relates the Odyssey because they both invole cattle.
In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his men when to the island where the Sun God had his cow. Tireseus had told him, in the underworld, that they were not aloud to kill the cows or they would not be safe. The men went against Odysseus because they were hungry and could not take it anymore. So they killed the the cows
In the movie O' Brother Where Art Thou, when Pete, Everte, and Delmar were walking on the dirt road and met Babyface Nelson, they got into his car and drove off with him. When Nelson hung out the window and started to shoot the police men, they came across the cows and he started to shoot the cows. This is a resemblence to the Odyssey.
6. Pete [to Everett]: Since we been followin' your lead, we ain't got nothing but trouble.
ReplyDeleteWhen Pete says this, he is speaking for him and Delmar and their journey to find "the treasure" that Everett has hidden many years ago. This relates to "The Odyssey" for Odysseus's crew members in his ship during the time that he was making his perilous journey home from Troy to Ithaca. When Odysseus killed the cyclops, Polyphemus, he was cursed by Poseidon for the rest of his trip home. It was not just Odysseus who was cursed though. His whole crew was cursed along with him as long as Odysseus was with them. They were all punished for Odysseus, but they all made mistakes too such as killing Helios' cattle on his island, even after Odysseus told them not to. They all suffer from each other's mistakes.
Delmar says "Oh George, not the livestock." This is like the Odyssey when Odysseus' men eat the cattle of Apollo. When they eat the cattle they are doomed to a terrible fate of dying. George suffers the same kind of punishment. Also Delmar tried to warn George about shooting the cows, much like Odysseus tried to warn his men about eating the cattle of Apollo. In both cases they disobey.
ReplyDeleteWhen Everett says that he and Penny are going to "pick up the pieces and retie the knot", he means that he and Penny are going to get remarried again and that he will start to er-civilize. This quote refers to the Odyssey, because it's talking about the time when Odysseus finally revealed his true identity to Penelope in book 23 line 230, and she confirmed to herself that he is the real Odysseus. They confided in each other their stories, and important events that were missed. Also, it was an excuse for Penelope to stop caring for any of the suitors who would normally still be begging for her love. In the movie, it stopped Penny from marrying Vernon Waldrip. In both of these copies, this quote would signify that the wife and the husband are now forever reunited.
ReplyDeletePete [to Everett]: Since we been followin' your lead, we ain't got nothing but trouble.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Odyssey", Odysseus and his crew are cursed by poseidon throughout their whole journey. Because of Odysseus' encounter with the cyclops, he and his crew are now going to face an endless amount of obstacles on their way to get home. This is almost exactly like the movie we watched in class. Pete and Delmar have been following Everett, but he has led them astray. Instead of taking them to the treasure like he promised, he was really only trying to get home. While doing this, he almost got them all killed multiple times. If it wasn't for Everett's lies and childish ways, they probably wouldn't have faced so many hard times. This is just like Odysseus and his crew. If Odysseus hadn't messed with the cyclops, he wouldn't have put he and his crew in such danger.
In "O' Brother Where Art Thou", Delmar said, "Oh, George. Not the livestock!" When Odysseus goes to the Underworld, Tiresius tells Odysseus that under no circumstances, should he or his crew kill Apollo's cattle. Apparently,Delmar was distressed because he did not like the killing of cows. Though Nelson kills them for no reason just like Odysseus' crew kills Apollo's cows when they should not have.
ReplyDeleteWhen Delmar said "Oh, George. Not the livestock"! this refers to the Odessy about killing cattle. When Odysseus is stuck on Helios' island his crew runs out of food and decides to eat Helios' cattle against Odysseus' orders. In the end the crew is struck by lightning and dies. In the end of the movie Gorege Nelson is also killed by lightning in the electric chair.
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