An Eye for an Eye Expression

The common expression an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. This refers to the Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou because in both the main characters make decisions that harm them or the people around them. Some of the more thought about topics of the Odyssey are hospitality, loyalty, and vengeance. All these themes tie into the stories. Both the story and the movie are about the journey to get back to their family and get their wives back. Ulysses’ and Odysseus’ journeys were similar but there were clear differences. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou took place in America and the Odyssey took place in Greece.

In Greece they are very welcoming to guests and when they have strangers come to the door they feed them and give them somewhere to rest. As in the Odyssey one example of bad hospitality is when Odysseus and his men went to Polyphemus’ cave, the men thought that they would be welcomed in and get to feast. But they were mistaking, because when the cyclops was hungry he would just grab two of the men and eat them whole. In the Odyssey there was also a good example in hospitality, the lotus eaters. When Odysseus and his men arrived on the island they were welcomed and got a treat right away. Although this treat, the lotus, would distract them from their real goal the lotus eaters were very welcoming. Another big lesson to be learned from the stories is loyalty.

Loyalty was a big part of these stories. In Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Pete and Delmar were loyal to Ulysses’ until they found out that there was no treasure. They were furious at Ulysses. They were also mad because Ulysses only wanted their help to break out because he wanted to get back with his wife. In the Odyssey there were many loyal people to Odysseus, Penelope and all the men who went to Troy with him. The men were loyal to Odysseus because when Odysseus was getting them in trouble with monsters and gods the men kept following him. Penelope was loyal to Odysseus throughout the whole story. She was having a hard time keeping the suitors at bay while Odysseus was away. Throughout the story Odysseus knew who to keep around him and knew who to trust. But when he heard about all the suitors trying to kill his son and trying to marry his wife he was furious.

Vengeance was one of the most action packed themes in the stories. In the Odyssey at the end of the story when Odysseus gets back to Ithaca. When he got back he was dressed up as a beggar and when Penelope had the competition, to string Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe heads, to find a new husband. None of the suitor were able to string the bow, but when it was Odysseus’ turn he was able to string the bow and make it through all the axe heads. So he won, but he was still angry about the suitors trying to kill his wife and marry his wife.

So he traped everyone in the room and killed all the suitor with help from his son Telemachus. Another example is when the cyclops was devouring his men so he stabbed the cyclops in the eye. He did this for vengeance and to get out of the cave they were trapped in. Odysseus was a leader that you would not want to go against or disrespect.
The decisions that the characters of both stories, affected them and the people around them. The ideas of hospitality, loyalty, and vengeance were expressed on a large scale in both stories. Overall, the expression an eye for an eye means when you punish someone you will be injured or penalized to a similar degree.

Cite this page