In the Odyssey, the pantheon played an important role in the actual plot both a physical and a thematic sense. That is to say that their actions (ie Athena's meddling and Poseidon's anger) shaped the story, but so did their values. Time and again, we saw that the gods value hospitality, so the characters would act hospitably in order to please the gods.
I noticed, however, that the gods seemed to value vengeance even more than hospitality. The whole wanderings are set in motion by Poseidon, who is trying to get back at Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus. There's also the incident with the Phaeacians, and Athena (and, to a lesser extent, most of the other gods) want Odysseus to get back to Ithaca so he can teach the suitors a lesson.
Revenge seemed to be a motif in the Greek religion (further research backs this observation up). And revenge is certainly a huge part of the mortals' actions in the Odyssey. In fact, it's pretty much the whole point.
From my understanding - and I am by no means an expert, so please correct me if I'm wrong - revenge wasn't as important in early 20th century southern Christianity. The emphasis seems to have been more on redemption, and this motif is reflected in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Our characters start out as convicts, so right from the get-go, they are in the moral/spiritual hole, and over the course of the movie, the viewer has to decide whether Everett in particular is more of a hero than he is a scam-artist. Furthermore, the film is less concerned with revenge than that of the Odyssey, even in the instances where the parallels are the strongest. For example, in the Odyssey, the reclamation of Penelope is saturated in vengeance, with the fact that the suitors kept hassling her cited as one of the main couple of justifications for the slaughter. The corresponding subplot in O Brother, the reclamation of Penny, is much more concerned with Everett redeeming himself in his wife's eyes, not killing her suitor.
Redemption is also brought up constantly by Delmar and Pete.
One more subtle parallel between the Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou? is the way in which the motifs of the contemporary mythology and religion played into the themes of the story.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Differing Heroic Traits
To a certain extent, there are traits that are universally considered to be part of the heroic equation. The bedrock trait is probably bravery; it appears in every heroic narrative I've encountered.
Other subtler character traits differ from hero to hero, and these traits can be examined to draw conclusions upon traits that are considered heroic in the wider culture. One example in the Odyssey is the idea of being blessed by the gods. People respect Odysseus (and Telemachus) more when they have evidence that the gods have taken special interest in him. Alcinous hints at this when he talks about the reasons that he treated Odysseus kindly, and the suitors take Telemachus seriously after Athena enhances his appearance. There is never an attitude that ample help from the gods detracts from the characters' heroism.
Contrast this with American heroic values. We don't really consider somebody blessed by a higher power to be heroic; we tend to lump them into the same category as somebody who won the lottery. I think the importance of self-sufficiency in American heroism comes from the historic American emphasis pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. When somebody raised on the American ideal of independent hard work to achieve the American dream encounters Odysseus, who gets tons of help, we almost feel like he cheated. But clearly the ancient Greeks didn't see it this way.
Since heroism has so long been associated with hyper-masculinity (epic battles, physical feats, etc.), it's interesting to see how a culture's hero reflects the culture's ideas about the ideal man. On numerous occasions, Odysseus cries, but his tears never cast him as weak. This Greek acceptance of an emotional male stands in contrast modern Western ideas of masculinity, which favor unattainable emotionlessness.
One trait that both ancient Greek and modern American heroism share is humility. Homer makes a point to punish Odysseus for his hubris. All of his trials could have been avoided if he could have refrained from gloating to Polyphemus. Similarly, during some of our first few discussions in class, we definitely established that bragging detracts from heroic acts and makes a capable person less likable, citing sports stars as examples.
(On a related note: who's ready to watch Richard Sherman put a serious blemish on his heroism tonight?)
In conclusion, heroic narratives, especially widely popular/accepted heroic narratives like the Odyssey, can be instructive into a society's greater values, and comparing heroic narratives is a decent way to compare cultures.
Other subtler character traits differ from hero to hero, and these traits can be examined to draw conclusions upon traits that are considered heroic in the wider culture. One example in the Odyssey is the idea of being blessed by the gods. People respect Odysseus (and Telemachus) more when they have evidence that the gods have taken special interest in him. Alcinous hints at this when he talks about the reasons that he treated Odysseus kindly, and the suitors take Telemachus seriously after Athena enhances his appearance. There is never an attitude that ample help from the gods detracts from the characters' heroism.
Contrast this with American heroic values. We don't really consider somebody blessed by a higher power to be heroic; we tend to lump them into the same category as somebody who won the lottery. I think the importance of self-sufficiency in American heroism comes from the historic American emphasis pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. When somebody raised on the American ideal of independent hard work to achieve the American dream encounters Odysseus, who gets tons of help, we almost feel like he cheated. But clearly the ancient Greeks didn't see it this way.
Since heroism has so long been associated with hyper-masculinity (epic battles, physical feats, etc.), it's interesting to see how a culture's hero reflects the culture's ideas about the ideal man. On numerous occasions, Odysseus cries, but his tears never cast him as weak. This Greek acceptance of an emotional male stands in contrast modern Western ideas of masculinity, which favor unattainable emotionlessness.
One trait that both ancient Greek and modern American heroism share is humility. Homer makes a point to punish Odysseus for his hubris. All of his trials could have been avoided if he could have refrained from gloating to Polyphemus. Similarly, during some of our first few discussions in class, we definitely established that bragging detracts from heroic acts and makes a capable person less likable, citing sports stars as examples.
(On a related note: who's ready to watch Richard Sherman put a serious blemish on his heroism tonight?)
In conclusion, heroic narratives, especially widely popular/accepted heroic narratives like the Odyssey, can be instructive into a society's greater values, and comparing heroic narratives is a decent way to compare cultures.
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