Nemo Versus Odyssey: Comparative Essay

Over the years, The Odyssey, an epic poetry story, was the first written of its kind. Since then, many storylines have focused on the characteristics, and themes of the Odyssey. For example, the movie Finding Nemo was influenced by the Odyssey. More specifically, Finding Nemo focused on the genre Father and Son. Father and son stories are used to describe the complex relationships of a father and son. These stories often capture how a relationship between a father and son can go from devotion to abandonment, or admiration to rebellion, and almost everything in between. In the Odyssey, the author shows the relationship of Odysseus and Telemachus over a long period of time, while in Finding Nemo we get to see as Nemo and his father, Marlin, develop a relationship over the course of the movie. The book “The Odyssey”, and the movie “Finding Nemo” both are related in several different ways and demonstrate the father and son genre.

Although the Odyssey was written a long time ago, Finding Nemo’s storyline follows the same theme of Father and Son. In finding Nemo, Marlin, Nemos father, becomes a single parent after the death of his wife. As Marlin struggles to raise Nemo he becomes very protective of his son, and this causes many disagreements between Nemo and Marlin. As Nemo grows older he begins to rebel against his father, which lead to Nemo swimming out into an open ocean by himself and getting caught by a scuba diver. The diver then captured him and he was separated from his father. When they both realize that they can’t do life without each other Nemo and his father have now both embarked on a huge journey to find eachother again.

In the Odyssey, Telemachus and Odysseus spend a lot of time separated when Odysseus travels to Troy on account of war for twenty years. Without a father, Telemachus strives to grow and mature into a man but is clueless on how to do this without his father. After several years of Telemachus waiting for his father to return home he learns how to grow up without Odysseus. However, twenty years later, Odysseus finally does return home, and Telemachus gets to meet his father for the first time, since he was a baby when his father left. There is a strong connection of emotion when the father and the son meet. In the book Homer writes, “salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men …So helpless they cried pouring out tears” (Homer 268). The distance allowed Odyseus and Telemachus to develop a strong bond and feelings towards each other in the end. Finding Nemo, and the Odyssey both show the important connection between a father and a son, and how difficult it can be when both the father and son are separated.

Besides the Father and Son genre that both of these stories demonstrate, The Odyssey and Finding nemo also display similar characteristics in the way that their story lines are written. In both of these stories there are characters that are on a quest to find something of importance. In Finding Nemo, Marlin swims across the ocean is a desperate search for his son, Nemo, after Nemo was captured by a diver. Nemo was precious to Marlin, and was the only family he had in his life.

Just like Nemo, Odysseus was away from home for twenty years and could not wait to get home to see his wife, Penelope, and his loyal son Telemachus. Oydsseus is on a huge mission to get home to see his family and reclaim his throne as king of Ithaca. Both, The Odyssey and Finding Nemo make is clear that reuniting with their families are a top priority because their families are very important people in their lives.

Finding Nemo and the Odyssey both demonstrate that there will always be obstacles that need to be overcome when on a journey to accomplish something. In Finding Nemo Marlin has to flee all the sharks without being eaten as he searches through the ocean for his son. Marlin is faced with my struggles that hold back his mission to desperately find his son Nemo.

While in the Odyssey, Odysseus comes in contact with many different characters which causes his journey home to lengthen. For example, Odysseus had to trick the Cyclops into allowing him and his men to leave. Also, he was forced to pass to Lotus Eaters, Sirens, and overcome Zeus’ lightning bolt to his ship. There are many more obstacles that held Odysseus back on his way home to finally see his family but these are the main ones that stuck out. In conclusion, these stories both show that there will always be complications that get in the way of any journey that characters embark on.