Opening scenes of O Brother

I thoroughly enjoyed the film O brother, where art thou? George Clooney has always been one of my favorite actors so I enjoyed this movie more than I had anticipated. I found the first couple of scenes in the movie to be especially comedic and I thought I would take this blog post to share why I appreciated them so much. Throughout the movie, the group dynamic between Everett, Pete, and Delmar was funny and refreshing. Some of the conversations they had and their ability to assess a situation, come up with a plan, and deal with all the obstacles they  faced with after escaping from the chain gang was truly interesting to watch. 

After the group escapes from the chain gang, they seek shelter for the night with Pete’s cousin. In the middle of the night, they wake up to sirens and quickly realize that the house they are in is surrounded by authorities. When they go to the window of the house, they peek outside and see Judas (Pete’s cousin) conferring with the authorities. Judas explains that he “knows they are kin” but had to turn them in to get money for his family due to the depression which has gotten them into a tough financial situation. Pete responds with one of the funniest and easily my favorite line in the entire movie. Pointing at his cousin, he says (in the loudest, thickest southern accent) “I’m gonna KIIILL you, Judas Iscariot Hogwallop! You miserable, horse-eatin, son of—”. This is hilarious because right as he is about to end his sentence, the sound of bullets takes over and he can’t end the sentence. I also found it funny how he uses his cousin’s full name instead of just his first name like he probably normally would. Over the course of the next two minutes, Everett proceeds to say the line “we are in a tight spot” 5 times.  Every time he says it, I though it was funnier because it is obvious that they are indeed in a tight spot and that is probably an understatement given that the authorities start out by shooting at them and then begin dumping gasoline on the house and lighting it on fire.  

Just like expected, the group finds a way to turn the situation in their favor and escape. While Pete is still screaming at his cousin “you lousy, low down, yellow bellied goat…”, Everett tries to negotiate with the authorities. Pete grabs the stick (lit with fire) that the authorities hurl at the boys and flings it back at them. 

Odyssey Book 21 and 22

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading The Odyssey. In particular, books 21 and 22 were very satisfying for me as a reader in a climactic sense. Someone in class mentioned that they found the books to be simply brutal and not nearly as satisfying because Odysseus is made out to be a crafty character in the other books and we lose the sense of admiring his wit when he murders most of the suiters in cold blood. I thought Homer did everything he could to make the reader feel fulfilled to see Odysseus get his revenge. Even Athena is on Odysseus’s side as she helps Odysseus slaughter the suitors and as a reader it seems like everything goes right for Odysseus in the slaughter scene in book 22. 

For one, we as a reader are in on the plot at the end of the novel because we know Odysseus's identity and are waiting for him to reveal himself and show his inherent superiority to the suitors. This gives the reader an upper hand over the suitors and even Penelope who can’t be trusted to know who Odysseus is for emotional reasons. There is a definite formal quality to this carefully choreographed narrative. The microscopic attention to detail that Homer uses to describe the violent events that take place are like a cinematic scene. The details when Antinous is shot in the throat are truly gruesome as we get the image of the food mixing with the blood on the floor after the king kicks the food. I personally think that Homer describes the events that transpire in a “slow-mo” way because he wants the reader to relish Odysseus getting his revenge and showing off who he really is. Mr. Mitchell cited a few key lines in the text that were particularly revealing.“Horror swept through the suiters” and “Odysseus snatched a wing or arrow”. There are several examples of this throughout the text.

As the suitors are falling, Homer is there to remind the reader of all the terrible things the suitors did that called for this measure of action by Odysseus. This makes us fell less sorry for the suitors, and makes this purge even more satisfying. Antinous is easily the most hated suitor and we already hate him for various reasons but more recently because he rudely warns Odysseus that he may end up like the drunken Centaur Eurythion if he fails to string the bow. When Ctesippus falls, Philoetius reminds him of his abuse of Odysseus with the cow’s hoof.