My original thought when comparing Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief the movie and Classical mythology was that there would be many more references to the myth of Perceus than any other myth throughout the movie in its entirety. That’s where I was wrong. After watching the movie again and researching the different hero myths my opinion has changed. My new thoughts are that the movie is not influenced by the myth of Perceus any more than other hero myths. The movie ties together many different heroes’ stories and mixes them together to make a wonderful story about a young boy. The movie was based on a book series written by Rick Riordan. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief the movie is about a young boy who has just discovered that he is a demi-god Percy Jackson. His father is Poseidon and his mother has been keeping it from him for many years. There is a lightning bolt that is stolen from Zeus on Mt. Olympus and Zeus believes that Percy has stolen it and demands its return by the summer solstice. In the mean time Percy gets attacked by multiple magical and mythological beings. There is a camp that demi-gods are safe from these things which is where Percy’s mother and his protector, Grover, take him to. This is where Percy’s journey begins. After a few days of being at the camp he realizes what he has to do. His mother was taken by Hades to the underworld and Percy has to save her all while trying to prove to Zeus that he did not steal the Lighting bolt. This is the true start to Percy’s quest. He made a few friends in the camp and they agreed to go on this journey with him. Those accompanying him were his protector Grover and Athena’s daughter Annabeth. They also get some helpful tools fro... ... middle of paper ... ...but they also believe that it is influenced by current day books such as Harry Potter more than Greek myth. Even though the movie and book may be influenced by these pop culture books that is to say that those books are not influenced by Greek myth. There are influences of mythology all through the world and most things in the world are influenced by mythology in some way. References "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. . Siegel, Dr. Janice. "Dr. J's Illustrated Lectures." Dr. J's Illustrated Lectures. Dr. Janice Siegel, 26 Nov. 2005. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. . "Camp Half-Blood Wiki." Wikia. Wiki, n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. .
Within this novel, the main character, Percy Jackson, is depicted to fit the universal archetype of a hero on a quest. Furthermore, Poseidon, Percy's father, shows the archetype of Magi with the guidance he provides Percy without him ever meeting him. On his quest to retrieve Zeus’ lightning bolt, the character of Luke also serves as a Hermes archetype and one of joker. He shows up right when the hero is about to make a breakthrough. Clearly, the characters demonstrate an archetypal prevalence that serves to develop the novel in the mythological type. With relation to modern life, Percy Jackson serves as an archetypal character that symbolizes goodness. He is a typical quiet young teenager with the additional issues of dyslexia and ADHD. He is an only child who lives in New York with his mother and step father. As the plot unravels, we learn that Percy, in his goodness, would do anything to protect his mother from
Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief is about a young boy (around the age of twelve) who finds out that he is the son of the greek god Poseidon. Percy (short for Perseus) faces troubling situations that the reader can relate to and gain a deeper connection to the book. “How old was I?” I asked. “I mean. . . when he left”(Riordan 38). This quote gives some readers of the novel a personal connection through parental problems the world faces today. Riordan shows the hardship of being a single mother. This situation can connect to Jane Eyre by showing a want that both Percy and Jane want...love. With the connection to the reader as a foundation to the novels importance, it still does not exhibit value. Horn Book Magazine says “The novel is packed with humorous allusions to Greek Mythology...among with rip snorting action sequences, this book really shines” (Horn Book Magazine). With what Horn Book said about the novel it gives educational support that is taught in schools. “Rick Riordan’s (2005) popular Percy Jackson series for middle school readers provides a substantial link to greek mythology, utilizing Homer’s Odyssey and Lliad to create a window into classical texts” (Bright). By combining two complex and merit-able reads Riordan creates a novel that creates a stepping stone into harder literature to read and analyze. “Riordan
His road of trials primarily consists of his run-ins with Medusa at Aunty Em’s Gnome Emporium, Echidna at the St. Louis Gateway Arch, and Procrustes the stretcher in Los Angeles. All of these situations were challenging ordeals, which Percy had to walk into without minimal knowledge of, even with Annabeth’s help. Furthermore, after jumping into the river at the Gateway Arch, Percy had his meeting with the goddess. In this case, the goddess was a sea nymph who reminded Percy that Poseidon was on his side and provided help for later ordeals. In the Underworld, Percy could have saved his mother and left one of his friends, or even himself, behind, yet he chose to finish his quest and find Zeus’s lightning bolt instead. This was his temptation from the true path, proving that he is worthy of being a hero. While trying to solve this case, he reached the apotheosis of this arc; he defeated Ares in battle. In defeating a god in battle, Percy proved himself to be godlike, more so than merely being the son of Poseidon. After learning that Ares had the bolt the whole time, Percy returns it to Zeus, meeting with Poseidon and finishing the book on good terms with his father. The ultimate boon for Percy in this book was understanding that his mother and his friends were capable. Overall, Percy’s arc in The Lightning Thief conforms to the initiation of the hero’s
The lightning thief is the first book in the series. Percy Jackson was a twelve-year-old boy but not just any young boy; he was a demigod. In other words he’s half human and half god. In the beginning Percy didn’t know he was a demigod until an incident happen with his so called “algebra teacher”, Mrs.Dodds Percy turned her into dust with a pen,( a sword in disguise as a pen i should say) He told his best friend at the camp Grover right after it happened but he acting like he had know idea what Percy was talking about. Grover claimed that there was never a Mrs.Dodds. Percy also asked his favorite teacher Mr.Brunner; he also said there was never a Mrs.Dodds working at the school, Ever!
...e realized he is from a Roman camp. Somewhere he thinks in San Francisco California called camp Jupiter he also knows where his strange markings on his arm came from; all the campers at camp Jupiter had their godly parent’s symbol tattooed on his forearm alone with dashes that counted how many years you where part of the camp for. Hera has switched the leaders of the camps who are Percy and Jason. Jason thanks Percy is at the roman camp, camp Jupiter. He just like Jason who doesn't remember anything about his past was thrown into a place where he does not belong. Hera switched them so the camps can learn to work together to find Geae and her evil minions the Giants and destroy them. They will build a giant flying boat that will carry a few campers from camp half blood to camp Jupiter, who will unite to seven heroes that are part of the great prophecy to defeat Geae.
As every work that involves a hero does, the journey starts with the Call to Adventure. Percy’s individual call occurs when he is on a school field trip after he is life alone with his teacher Mrs. Dodds. Without any indication, she transforms into a fury and viciously attempts to attack Percy. While in the process of this she repeatedly asks him “where is the bolt?”. Muddled, he evades her until his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner gives him a pen that when clicks, transforms into a sword. Throughout the movie, this remains as Percy’s Talisman, or an item with special significance to the hero. At this point, Percy is completely bewildered. He is not yet told why that event occurred, but when he is, he is not promptly ready to accept his mission. This rejection is known as the Refusal of the Call and is another aspect of the hero’s journey. Percy does not believe that he could be a demigod, for he views himself as an inept, dyslexic boy with ADHD. He readily is taken home by Grover to pack and explain to his mom that he has been “found”. Grover then reveals himself as Percy’s protector and reveals that he is a satyr. In the hero’s journey, this mythical mentor is known as the Supernatural Aid. Grover then tells Percy that he is being taken to a safehouse, Camp Halfblood, for kids like him. As Percy, his mother, and Grover near the camp, a minotaur appears and endeavors to capture Percy for stealing
In this expert from the “Lightning Thief,” the author uses Percy’s point of view to achieve his purpose, of creating suspense.
“Suspense combines curiosity with fear and pulls them up a rising slope.” - Mason Cooley. These emotions that suspense creates are intended to keep viewers interested and entertained while watching, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”, directed by, Chris Columbus. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” was filled with suspense. The three major elements the director used to generate suspense were conflict, sympathetic attachment to the protagonist and foreshadowing.
Overall, Riordan uses different mythological characters, to create a modern adaptation on the story of Perseus. Riordan does so in a way that a younger audience could understand and even relate to in this day and age. The main point Riordan is trying to get across, is this idea of heroism, and using children’s imaginations to make this happen. However he doesn’t only use Percy to be portrayed as the hero, he also uses Grover, and also Annabeth who both help Percy along his quest.
That is the prophecy that Percy Jackson’s life has been leading up to for almost sixteen years. Percy and his friend blows up the Princess Andromeda--the ship of the Titan Lord Kronos. However, the blow kills Charles Beckendorf, sending his girlfriend, Silena Beauregard into despair. The demigods at Camp Half Blood find out that there is a spy among them. Who is the spy? What is the cursed blade? And the biggest question is: Who is the hero? As the fateful day of Percy’s sixteenth birthday inches closer, the demigods must attempt
This story would be very different if the event of Percy realising that he was a son of Poseidon had not happened and the book would have a different title and the book would not be a series. I am really glad the author did not let that let that happen to the main
In the lighting Thief Percy Jackson have ADHD well that’s what he says but I think not . In the title of the book in the Lighting Theif that this book has mystery questions. And by how the author that wrote this book tells the he likes Greek. The main character is Percy Jackson he’s the son of Poseidon the sea god and in the book he thinks he has ADHD because he says he doesn’t focus in class. My statement is that he does no have ADHD. The reason why is because when he’s a bus in the story he does not need to get up and move all over the bus he just stays still.
...Journey and examine the heroic parallels between Percy Jackson and the great Greek heroes Perseus, Theseus, and Hercules through a timeless lense.
Percy Jackson is a true hero. Imagine if you had the chance to save your mother, but put your own life at risk. When Percy was given this chance, he never even thought about his own life. When he saved the world, he didn't care if he put his own life in immense trouble. When he met his half brother, he stood up for him, not caring if no one liked him after. It is clear that there is no way that Percy Jackson can be thought of anything but a hero, which is what he truly
In conclusion, although the Iliad is based upon Troy, it is not really fair to compare the two. A book and a movie are two entirely different things. It is almost like comparing apples to oranges. Homer’s Iliad is a classic tale, and even though many people might agree that such a masterpiece should not be tampered with, it is important to keep it alive and spread it to all those around.