Thematic Parallels between The Odyssey and Stranger Than Fiction
It may seem strange to compare a contemporary film about a mundane IRS agent and his everyday life to a classic work of Greek literature on the surface. Still, there are some fascinating similarities worth noting. Comparing these two works allows one to see how little the human experience and narrative process has evolved. Thematic parallels between Homer's The Odyssey and the 2006 film Stranger Than Fiction will be discussed in this essay.
Destiny versus Free Will
The first thematic parallel that both works share is that of destiny versus free will. In both The Odyssey and Stranger Than Fiction, the protagonists are faced with impediments to the exercise of their free will. In The Odyssey, Odysseus, heading home from his battles in the Trojan War, is confronted by the Gods and made to complete a series of tasks before he can return home. So, Odysseus’ fate is altered by the Gods and he is forced to wander around to different places completing all the tasks he is given by the Gods. In Stranger Than Fiction, Harold Crick leads a mundane life until one day he discovers that he has a narrator in his head who is describing all the actions of his life. This leads Crick to discover that the narrator is a real person, a writer, named Karen Eiffel, who seems to be composing his life as her next novel and thereby controlling his fate. The problem is, Crick also discovers that all of Eiffel’s protagonists die at the end of the novels. Crick spends the rest of the story trying to find Eiffel and convince her not to kill him.
Suffering
Another thematic similarity that stands out in both The Odyssey and Stranger Than Fiction is one of suffering. Odysseus endures a lot of suffering as the Gods guide him through a seemingly endless series of tasks which require great effort on the part of Odysseus and some, which on their face, seem impossible for a mortal man. In contrast to this direct kind of suffering, knowing that he is to die soon causes Harold Crick much internal suffering. Crick suffers with deciding whether to let fate (Karen Eiffel) decide what happens to him or to stand up for himself, find Eiffel, and convince her of his outlandish story in time to save his life.
Perseverance
The final thematic similarity found in both The Odyssey and Stranger Than Fiction is that of perseverance. Because both protagonists are made to suffer in their respective journeys, they both must display perseverance to overcome the obstacles which have been placed in front of them by the Gods and Karen Eiffel, respectively. Odysseus learns perseverance through the many trials he is made to endure by the Gods before he can return to Ithaca and his wife Penelope who has waited on him these many years he has been gone. Harold Crick also learns perseverance as he struggles to find Eiffel and convince her not to kill him off at the end of the novel because he has also found love in his life in the form of Ana Pascal, a woman he was assigned to audit.
In both tales, the protagonists are faced with life-changing trials to accomplish their ultimate goals. Whether it be in ancient Greek times or the hustle and bustle of modern day living, man is still faced with daily trials and tribulations which must be overcome to accomplish one’s goals in life. Whether we choose to face them head on or shrink from the challenge and accept what fate has in store for us, the choice in the end is ours and ours alone.
Works Cited
Finley, John Huston. Homer’s Odyssey. Harvard University Press, 1978.
Stranger Than Fiction. Directed by Marc Forster, performances by Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifah, Columbia Pictures, 2006.
