The book is better than the movie, a comment that is stated after every film adaptation ever known to man; a statement that has been debated for years and will be debated for numerous more. Why does the book always seem to be more preferable? Seeing the book on screen, through the eyes of the director, will never live up to the expectations that were implanted upon the viewer when the book was read themselves. “The Odyssey” is a superior work of art to the film O! Brother, Where Art Thou? because Odysseus is the worthier epic hero and the film loses the major theme of hospitality that is displayed throughout the poem.
“The Odyssey” is a poem composed by the legendary author Homer, one of the central works of Greek Literature. The poem follows…show more content… Odysseus possesses characteristics that Everett did not show: unwavering loyalty, and unprecedented generosity. Throughout the poem, Odysseus demonstrates loyalty, to not only his crew, but to his wife Penelope. The greatest urge to be disloyal came from Calypso. Being the only inhabitant of the island Ogygia, compels Calypso to keep Odysseus and his crew as prisoners for seven years. Calypso did everything in her power to inveigle Odysseus to be her husband, “she [even] offered him the gift of immortality if only he would love her.”(Homer, 71) However, Odysseus refused and demanded that she built him a ship. Odysseus’ loyalty to his crew is one of his most noble traits. When the Ithacans reached the island of the lotus-eaters, his drugged men begged and pleaded to stay and the other sober crew members were ready to abandon them. Odysseus encourages his men by calling them to action by questioning “Are we to abandon them here? Or shall we save them from themselves?” (7) Odysseus would not settle returning to Ithaca without his men, whose judgement was clouded. When Odysseus and his men were facing the son of Poseidon, Polyphemus, Odysseus devised a plan that allowed his men to escape from the cave safely, “Odysseus had roped the ewes together in threes, and that underneath each center sheep a man clung on for his life.” (18) Odysseus having tied each man to the ewes himself, was left…show more content… Xenia is the generosity and courtesy shown in the guest-host relationship. The whole concept of Xenia began with the couple Baucis and Philemon, the only two people in their town to welcome the two disguised gods Zeus and Hermes into their home. The two were rewarded for their generosity, and the others punished. So in fear of the gods showing at their door, Greeks would welcome anyone with open arms and give them gifts; homeowners would also receive gifts in return from the travelers.(Manolis) One of the first encounters of hospitality was when Odysseus receives advice from Circe. When the men come upon the sorceress’ farmhouse, “the doors swung open in welcome, ushering them into the shade of a dining hall.” (Homer, 34) Odysseus however did not enter, and he watched Circe turn the crew into pigs. Odysseus outsmarted the sorceress and in trade of her life, she gave Odysseus crucial advice he needed in order to return to Ithaca. Odysseus also received great help from King Aeolus, who greets Odysseus with offers of dining and tells them “the rules of hospitality command that [he] gives [them] everything [they] need.”(22) The king gave Odysseus the bag of Poseidon's winds and in return Odysseus told the Aeolians of all of his adventures, and this was gift enough because the Aeolians never left their city. For the duration of the whole film O! Brother, Where Art Thou?, Everett does not once