Peter's Blog

Although  O Brother, Where Art Thou? contains several supernatural events, being based on the Odyssey , Everett stubbornly refuses to believe in such things. He frequently asserts that anything that happens has a rational explanation, often to our comedic relief. This is in contrast to the Odyssey , in which the main hero (and everyone else) believes the gods to be real, despite both stories having similar supernatural events. When Everett and the others first meet the blind handcar driver, they are told that they will find fortune and experience many extraordinary things (including a cow on a roof, heh). Everett, of course, seeks a rational explanation, insisting that the blind man buried the treasure himself. Similarly, when the three men are incapacitated by the "sirens", Everett doesn't think the toad is Pete, even though he has no alternative explanation as to where Pete is. The most notable example of Everett's secularism, however, is in the final few scenes...

In The Odyssey , the gods are interestingly unpredictable. In class, we discussed how, though the Phaeacians worshipped Poseidon for years, Poseidon still decided to screw over one of their boats along with their scenery as punishment for helping Odysseus. I've always thought of the Greek gods as completely rational overseers of the mortals with strong moral compasses, but these incidents make the gods seem more... human. The above example of Poseidon's actions is a perfect example of this. He holds a grudge against Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus, and ends up taking his anger out on his followers when his plans to prolong Odysseus's journey are thwarted. This is a very "human" phenomenon: when we get angry and frustrated, the source of our problems often isn't the target of our anger. Other gods besides Poseidon seem to exhibit similarly "human" characteristics. Athena helps Odysseus while Poseidon seeks to harm him, showing that the gods can pic...