Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a quick-paced story following the hero's journey, which always throws its subjects into drastic change and adversity. Percy’s external world constantly shifts, and his internal world matches it in complexity. Percy’s life changes primarily in the way he learns to view himself differently.
Percy’s story begins when he is a student at a boarding school in New York City, but he is soon thrown into the world of Greek demigods when his mother is killed and he learns he is the son of the sea god Poseidon. Charged with finding Zeus’s stolen master bolt, he and two friends embark on an adventure to Los Angeles, where they suspect Hades is hiding the bolt in the Underworld. By the end of the story, Percy succeeds in returning the stolen master bolt, discovering that Ares had it all along, and meets his father and the rest of the gods at Olympus.
The real change to Percy’s life, however, is about how learns he sees himself. At the start of the story, Percy sees himself as a bad student, constantly getting expelled from schools, never doing well in classes, always disliked by his teachers, and never popular with other kids his age. He thinks he will amount to nothing, though he is determined never to sink to as low a level as his lousy, abusive stepfather, Smelly Gabe. He holds bitterness toward his birth father for leaving himself and his mother before he was born, believing that somehow his father, too, knew Percy would be a disappointment one day.
Once he learns he is a demigod, everything changes. Percy learns that struggling in school is a universal experience for demigods and that it simply means he’s meant for a different destiny than the ordinary mortals who have been his peers. He learns how to use a sword, and his mentor, Chiron, gives him Riptide, a sword which feels perfectly balanced in his hands, signaling that he has finally found a destiny that truly “fits” him. At his quest’s close, he has finally proven to himself that he is capable of defying the odds and coming out on top—even saving the world. Finally, he meets his father and sees himself in him despite the fact that Poseidon is an immortal god. It is then, when he is praised by his absent father, that Percy truly comes to see the value in himself that was there all along. Even though Percy returns home and goes back to school at the story’s end, much like he did in the beginning, his character is forever altered, and his life is drastically different from how it was at the story’s start.
Percy's life changes when he finds out he is the son of a god. He is removed from his normal home and school and sent to a training camp for half-bloods. Percy becomes more mature, and less destructive and childish, as he discovers his new talents and adjusts to his new situation.
Percy starts the series as a troubled young boy attending Yancy Academy, a school that agreed to accept him despite his history of dismissal from other schools. He lives with his mother, Sally, and his stepfather who he refers to as Smelly Gabe. Though weird things happen regularly around Percy, he still lives a fairly normal life.
Once Percy leaves his old life behind and starts attending Camp Half-Blood, he becomes more mature and responsible. For example, he agrees to accept a quest to return Zeus's lightning bolt in the hopes that Zeus won't go to war with Percy's father, Poseidon. Though he ultimately chooses to return to school at the end of the summer, he is still connected to his godly heritage and has changed due to his experiences. He is no longer as difficult and feckless as he used to be. Instead, he has a healthy and productive way to channel his energy.
No comments:
Post a Comment