Realism In The Lightning Thief

Warrehn Desilva
7823848
CLAS 2520
The Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan’s, The Lightning Thief combines many prominent myths, such as the myth of Perseus, and the adultery of Ares and Aphrodite to create a very interesting ‘rising action’ however, to increase realism and historical relevance certain aspects of these myths have been modified. For example, following the Furies’ attack upon the tour bus, Annabeth, Grover and Percy take refuge in ‘Aunty Em’s Garden Emporium’. When they enter the statue filled building they are greeted by a veiled Middle Eastern woman who offers them food and drink. When their suspicions are aroused by the uncanny realism of the statues surrounding them, coupled with the faint hissing noise coming from ‘Aunty Em’, they

This was changed to create an atmosphere of tension for the characters and foreshadow the identity of ‘Aunty Em’ to the readers. Secondly, the earlier accounts of the myth of Perseus place Medusa’s location in the Western Ocean while later accounts place Medusa in Libya (Theoi Project, n.d.), Riordan changes her placement to the state of New York despite this, he pays homage to the North African heritage of Medusa by depicting her as a Middle Eastern woman in traditional Islamic garb. Furthermore, in the source myth, Perseus is look at Medusa albeit indirectly, due to his highly polished shield. Due to his lack of shield Percy was given a glass ball by Annabeth, similarly to how Athena gave Perseus his polished shield. Finally, Riordan chose to omit the birth of Pegasus and Chrysaor, due to the graphic nature of a winged horse and a titan emerging from the headless corpse of a woman it would have been unsuitable for middle schoolers, Riordan’s target audience. Secondly, the group finds themselves in a diner in Denver, with no money to pay for food or, any means of transportation to complete their quest. While discussing their next move they are

Once Riordan fully told the story his son insisted that he make it into a story. Certain aspects of the story were designed to identify and encourage Haley. For example, prior to the conception of The Lightning Thief Haley was undergoing testing for ADHD and Dyslexia therefore, to demonstrate to Haley that having these conditions was not bad, Riordan created a heroic and creative character whose ADHD and Dyslexia turn out to be his greatest assets in his journey. Concerning the relocation of the myths to the United States, Chiron explains that the Gods move with the heart of Western civilisation and will simply move when the power dynamic shifts (Frequently Asked Questions, n.d.). However, as the text was initially developed as a bedtime story for a second grader in the United States, relocating the text to the United States would have increased the comprehension and therefore, the enjoyment of the text to the target audience. Following Riordan’s decision to publish The Lightning Thief, the location of the myth remained the United States as the target audience remained children in the United States therefore, the insertion of foreign geography would have reduced comprehension among readers. In the Lightning Thief Riordan endeavours to teach children that cooperation among themselves can enable them to achieve much more than they would be able to achieve alone. In addition to this,