The Lightning Thief Analysis

Throughout the novel ‘Percy Jackson and the lightning thief’, written by Rick Riordan, many mythological allusions are used to enhance the characterisation of people, monsters and creatures. The author, Rick Riordan, uses both, direct and subtle references to Greek mythology within the text. Initially, in the narrative, Percy’s math teacher, Mrs Dodds, is revealed as a fury who is serving Hades, the God of the underworld. Mrs Dodds transformed into her true self to force Percy’s into telling her where Zeus’ lightning bolt is hidden. In Greek mythology furies are goddesses of vengeance.

The monster took them away and Percy got scared because he started to see where is Annabeth and Thalia. They were nowhere to be found. Percy went to go find them and he was attacked by the principal named Dr. Thorn and he was the monster. He already knows about Percy and his friends because they have a smell that the monster can

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is about a 12 year old boy named Percy Jackson who's getting chased by mythological monsters and his two friends Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, and Grover Underwood a satyr who is Percy's protector. Percy was in 6th grade and had just gotten out of school for summer break, when he found out that he was a half-blood, his mother was Sally Jackson, a mortal and his father was Poseidon, king of the sea. Percy got sent to camp Half-Blood for protection from monsters and got assigned a mission to find a lightning bolt that the gods think he stole and prevent a war between the gods, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus.

In the book Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy is your typical 12-year-old boy who is a troublemaker in school and lives with his mother’s abusive husband. Percy’s life changes when he accused of stealing Zeus’ master bolt and attacked by monsters. Percy’s mother is killed along the way towards a camp called Camp Half-Blood and trains his heritage as a demigod. Percy is then sent on a heroic quest, with friends, to prove his innocence and along the way, rescue his mother from Hades. After a long and arduous journey of being chased by monsters, Percy managed to return the lightning bolt and save his mother. Percy is then betrayed by a close friend, as the friend was the thief, and escaped while warning them of the true mastermind.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief has very similar plot types and structures to the original “The Legend of Perseus”. However, there are a few essential changes to help restore the original. To start, in the call to adventure Percy Jackson’s mother is taking Percy to the beach and cabin to relax and get his favorite blue candies.

So, when Grover, Annabeth (the daughter of Athena), and him encounter her garden she turns a lady that was holding Annabeth’s arm into stone. Medusa is then trying to tempt Annabeth too also look into her eyes, right when Annabeth gets tired of closing her eyes Percy distracts Medusa. She then goes and tries to turn him into stone. For instance, when she says “Let me see your eyes. I hear they are bluer than the Circassian Sea. Open them! Or my hungry babies will have to open them for you.” She has snakes as hair and she is warning him that if he doesn’t open his eyes on his own she is going to make the snakes open his eyes. However, he manages to not look into her eyes and ultimately ends up chopping her head off with his pen that turns into a sword. Later, he has to beat the hydra dragon. He made things worse since he cut the heads off, and according to Greek mythology when you cut one off two grow back. This is exactly what happens and they are attacking him, but he is able to defeat

that Greek gods exist, and have been closely observing western culture and ideas. The author draws parallels to Percy’s life, who is an American teenager, with that of Greek heroes. This parallel helps the readers to relate to the book, essentially engaging the young readers to learn about Greek mythology and the lessons of life that it teaches, in a not so bland way. The protagonist of the novel, Percy Jackson, is revealed to be special in some way. This section also develops other supporting characters, such as Chiron, Percy’s teacher, who also was mentor to Hercules and Grover, who is Percy’s sidekick, a multi-dimensional character with his own past, hopes and concerns. The association of Chiron and Percy foretells that Percy will carry on heroic deeds in future. Percy fights Minotaur, a monster that even Theseus fought and defeated. In the process of defeating Minotaur, Percy loses his mother, which he feels was his last hope to returning to his normal human life. By drawing parallels between Percy and various heroes of Greek Mythology, the author shows Percy in the light of a hero. A hero who is yet to prove his worth in the Camp Half-Blood. His encounter with Clarisse at a bathroom in camp, allows him to show his strength, which was very similar to that of his father Poseidon, but also instils in some ways fear amongst the camp

Firstly, Percy and Harry are similar and different due to their appearance. In their books, Harry and Percy are constantly described to having two characteristics – black hair and green eyes.

Outside of the museum Percy gets into a fight with the local bully and ends up knocking her down with water from the fountain, although no one really understands what has happened. This is a manifestation of Percy’s powers. It turns out he is a Half-Blood-half-human and half Greek God.

He goes to school where he struggles to read and being hyperactive. This is Percy’s dragon. It’s something that he has to deal with at school and is what sets him apart from the other students. However, during a school field trip to a museum of Greek and Roman exhibitions being dyslexic was not the problem as words and mythology seem to make sense to him. During the field trip he sees his friend Grover being picked on. His impulsiveness makes him push the bully into a fountain. He is caught by his teacher Mrs. Dodds who takes him away from the others. Mrs. Dodds suddenly turns into a fury and attacks Percy with remarks about being a thief. A fury is one of Hades creatures: a bat like monster with wings and sharp claws. His ordinary world gets stranger when Percy and his mother are intruded by Grover. Grover warns him he’s in danger and is here to protect him. Because after all it is Grover’s duties to look after Percy as a satyr. A satyr is a person with goat's ears, tail, legs, and horns. Suddenly a bull like monster called a Minotaur comes chasing after the three and the Minotaur accomplishes in “killing” Percy’s mother. Percy then defeats the Minotaur and goes

Most heroes are best known for their battles against monstrous beings. Percy is on his way to camp Half-Blood with his mother and best friend, Grover, when they are stopped in their tracks. Their car has mysteriously crashed into a ditch with no explanation, until a dark figure lumbers towards them. "Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Man magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin." (Riordan 50) Without any warning Percy meets an enormous monster that he has to battle. He has to

The brave Percy snaps off a horn of the beasts and defeats him with it. The Minotaur bursts which are very similar to what happened to Mrs. Dodds in the museum. Percy drags Grover over to a nearby farmhouse. When he wakes up, a girl is standing over him talking about the summer solstice. When everyone is awake, Grover thanks Percy for saving him by rewarding him with the Minotaur's horn. They come to the reality that Percy's mother is gone; Grover feels responsible for the loss.Percy immediately picks up on where they are. Greek buildings and architecture are everywhere. Grover shows Percy Mr. D, the camp director, and Annabeth, the girl responsible for taking care of Percy and randomly talking about the summer solstice. Percy notices Mr. Brunner, except he's in a wheelchair now. He welcomes Percy to Camp Half-Blood. Mr. Brunner wants to be called Chiron which is his real name. Nothing is making sense to Percy yet, so Chiron continues to explain the Greek Gods exist, and Mr. D is actually Dionysus, god of wine. Chiron says the gods have migrated from Greece and Rome to the United

How does a person become a hero? First, the hero was called for the adventure, but wasn’t sure of going. Second, the hero met the teacher. Third, the hero faced many hero obstacles.

Through films, poetry, and art, mythology has become synonymous with an alternate telling of historical events, or explaining events previously misunderstood by the general public. Although it may seem like simple fiction to most, mythology has become intertwined with the Greek culture, and is key in an overall understanding of how the world works. The book I have read is “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief”. Through the eyes of Rick Riordan, a simple story of an ordinary student begins to unravel, and discusses several key figures and moments of ancient Greek culture, and therefore, mythological beings of grand power. Close to the beginning of the book, the main character, Percy Jackson, visits a museum and is asked to explain an event depicted in one of the picture. Afterwards, he is asked why knowledge of these mythological events would matter in reality (Riordan 5,6). This exact question is the central theme throughout the book, and is what I pondered throughout the story.

The film does a good job of accurately representing some of the minor characters from mythology as well. Percy’s friend Grover is a satyr, and displays a strong interest in many of the females in the film. Chiron, leader of the centaurs makes an appearance as well, disguised as one of Percy’s teachers. He later reveals himself to be a centaur and the leader of the Demigod Camp that Percy travels to. Charon also makes an appearance, and only allows Percy and his friends to travel to the Underworld once they have paid him. As mentioned before, Medusa appears in the film, and expresses her anger towards Athena for transforming her into a monster. She also tells Percy that she ‘used to date [Poseidon],’ which is a more family-friendly version of the Roman story where Poseidon rapes her in Athena’s temple.