O Brother, Where Art Thou

In O Brother, Where Art Thou, some of the transformations that the Coen Brothers perform on The Odyssey are having John Goodman being basically a giant compared to the other three that escape, resembling Cyclops.  The blind man pushing a handcar (their prophet) in the beginning of the movie is considered to be the prophet Odysseus visits in Hades.  The blind radio owner seems to represent the boatman in Greek mythology who helps the dead cross the River Styx into Hades.  Clooney’s character essentially goes hand in hand with Odysseus.  With his crew being escaped convicts, Sheriff Cooley takes on the role of Poseidon and how the god was always behind Odysseus, hunting him down.  Another similarity was Clooney’s characters wife is named Penny, which can be inferred to be short for Penelope.  Additionally, both wives give their husbands a final test before accepting them back, which is essentially the same with The Odyssey.