image by John Rocco
courtesy of Karen Rought at hypable.com
Richard Russell “Rick” Riordan Jr. was born on June 5, 1964 on San Antonio, Texas. He is married and has two sons namely Haley and Patrick. He liked reading the Lord of The Rings, Greek and Norse Mythology in middle school, fantasy and science fiction on high school, then he got interested in mysteries when he went to college. His parents were both teachers. His mom was a musician and an artist while his dad was a ceramist. He went to Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio and worked as an editor for his school’s newspaper. He won third place in state for UIL feature writing during his stay on the said school. He also got in trouble during his stay for publishing an underground newspaper that made fun of the school, especially the football team that lost who later then egged his car. He wanted to become a guitar player so he went to North Texas State after high school, but later transferred to the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a double major in English and history. He was then certified to teach English and history from UT San Antonio and he taught at San Antonio Independent School District. He started writing when he was in middle school. He submitted his first story for publication when he was 13, but was not published. His first published works were two short stories in the UTSA literary magazine. He worked as a music director at a summer camp called the Camp Capers when he was in college where he got the idea for Camp Half-Blood. He taught at middle school in New Braunfels, Texas then he and his wife moved to San Francisco and stayed there for eight years and taught Presidio Hill School, then they had their two sons, and then moved back to San Antonio and taught at Saint Mary’s Hall and taught English and social studies to grades six to eight for six years. Teaching mythology was his favourite. He then stopped teaching to become a full-time writer (rickriordan.com, 2014).
The story revolves inside many places in modern (21st century) America, but importantly in New York where Mount Olympus was (in the story) and in Camp Half-blood. It was during the start and end of summer. America is so big and too large to navigate which brought difficulty for Percy, Grover, and Annabeth to go to the places they needed to since they are also time constrained. If the places they needed to go to were close enough, it will greatly change the story. The places they needed to go to were far from each other and for them to be journeying without any adult watching over them is very hard but they managed.
The whole flow of the story pretty much followed the same structure of a plot. It started when Percy got attacked by Mrs. Dodds (Fury) at the Museum then realized that something very odd was going on and when his mother vanished into golden light when the Minotaur caught her. The rising-action was all of the obstacles they had to go through when they have to reach Hades in the underworld: the escape from three furies on the bus, their battle with Medusa, their battle with Chimera, etc. The most thrilling part of the story was when Percy fought Ares then succeeded which then brought peace and stopped the impending war between the gods. The falling action goes to when Luke showed his true colours then the rest of the story. The turning point was when Percy’s mother, Sally, vanished to golden light when the Minotaur held her neck. This started his goal to save his mom from Hades. The story IS a flashback. “I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.” The story that I can closely relate to it is the movie and TV series Hercules which also has the concept of Greek mythology. They are both demigods or half-bloods who are in the quest of saving someone. Hercules retrieves Meg and Percy saves his mom. They only differ in time setting. Hercules was set on ancient Greece while The Lightning Thief was set on modern America.
There are many characters in the book The Lightning Thief. I may not mention all, but I put the ones that I recall that contributed to the story/plot.
Major Characters:
Percy Jackson – The main protagonist. The son of Sally Jackson and Poseidon. A child with dyslexia and ADHD who is always switching schools because of “school troubles”. He was always static in the story because he was still the reckless as he was in the first part of the story. The exact opposite of Grover.
Grover – The satyr best friend of Percy and also his guardian. He accompanies Percy on his quest so that he can get a searcher’s license to find Pan. He was mostly static in the story but became dynamic when he was enchanted by the casino hotel which was a trap. The exact opposite of Percy. Grover plays it safe.
Annabeth – Friend of Percy who also accompanies him on his quest. She is also a demigod, the daughter of Athena. She was all-timer at the Half-blood Camp since she was seven.
Mr. Brunner/ Chiron – The literature teacher of Percy. The trainer of heroes. He was static all throughout the story. He was till the caring person as he was before he introduced hisself to Percy as the trainer of heroes. He is the opposite of Mr. D.
Sally Jackson- The mother of Percy and was the mortal wife of Poseidon. She was taken by Hades as hostage so he can get the helm of darkness back which he thought was with Percy.
Luke – The thief of Zeus’ masterbolt. The son of Hermes. He became dynamic at the end when he exposed his true colours to Percy as the follower of Kronos.
Minor Characters:
Mrs. Dodds/Fury and the Kindly Ones – The monsters sent by Hades to retrieve his helm of darkness and also to catch/kill Percy.
Nancy Bobofit – The young girl that bullies Grover. She brought out Percy’s powers when she bullied him through the fountain.
Mr. D (Dionysus) – God of Wine. He was banned use his powers and serve at Half-blood Camp because he offended Zeus by hitting on a wood nymph declared off-limits. He acts like a spoiled brat. The opposite of Chiron.
Poseidon – The God of the Sea. The brother of Zeus and hades and son of Kronos The father of Percy. His brother Zeus accused him and then Percy of stealing the masterbolt during the solstice.
Hades – The God of the Underworld. The brother of Zeus and Poseidon and son of Kronos. He sent monsters to Percy so that he can retrieve his mastebolt.
Ares – The God of War. He caught the lightning thief but kept the masterbolt and helm of darkness to himself so that there would be war among the Gods.
Zeus – The King of Gods. The brother of Poseidon and Hades and son of Kronos. His masterbolt was stolen during the solstice and demanded that it must be returned by the accused thief (Percy) before the summer solstice.
Charon – The boatman of The River of Styx. He ferried Percy, Annabeth, and Grover from the waiting lobby to the other side of the River Styx.
Medusa – A gorgon who turns anything into stone when it stares into her eyes. She disguised herself as Mrs. Em to lure Percy, Annabeth, and Grover.
Clarisse – Daughter of Ares. She is big and strong and bullies people at the camp.
Gabe – The husband of Sally and stepfather of Percy. He is the typical unemployed slacking husband. He accused Percy to be a troubled child.
The Three fates – The Past, The Present, and The Future. They are the old ladies who cut a thread that symbolizes someone’s fate will end.
Wood Nymphs – The ones who helped Percy when he was poisoned by the scorpion summoned by Luke.
The Oracle – The one who tells the destinies of people.
The Nereid – The saltwater nymph. The one who gave Percy the magic pearls. Poseidon’s “secretary”.
The Naiads – The freshwater nymphs. The ones that flirts with guys at the camp.
Echidna – The Beast Keeper. The “mother” of the Chihuahua that is actually a Chimera.
Chimera- Echidna’s “daughter/son”.
Hephaestus – The God of Fire/Volcanoes and the Blacksmith of Gods. He was the one that set a trap in the park.
There are many conflicts in the story both Internal and External.
Internal
1. “Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.” – As what Percy said, he never did wanted to be a Half-Blood because it will involve painful death and a hard life. The only thing that he could do is survive and live with it.
2. “I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.” – At the first chapter, Percy starts to doubt himself because Mrs. Dodds didn’t seem to exist after she killed it. Nobody remembers who Mrs. Dodds is because of the mist. He later then found out that human eyes were covered with mist whenever something supernatural happens. He wasn’t going crazy after all
3. “…Then, when Zeus sent you to hunt him down, you caught the thief. But you didn’t turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go.” – Ares was convinced that he might become superior if the three gods begin a war to each other. He was defeated by Percy and still chose the side of Kronos, the enemy.
4″Her [Thalia] death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so.” – Grover thinks that he will fail again now on Percy’s quest. He later then succeeded on the quest with Percy and got his Searcher’s license.
5. “I can’t believe that Luke …” Annabeth’s voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. “Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him…. He was never the same after his quest.”
– Annabeth’s feelings for Luke changed after she learned that he was the lightning thief. She was then determined to punish Luke for what he did.
6. “What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, Oh, by the way, you’ll fail” – Percy became unfaithful at the time when he heard from the Oracle that he will start a quest that he will fail. The prophecy did not come true but only one thing did, Luke’s betrayal.
External
1. Zeus: “Daring to fly through my domain … pah! I should have blasted him out of the sky for his impudence.”– Because he was the result of the broken oath of the Big Three, other gods wanted to kill him. He was very vulnerable but he was spared by some of the gods.
2. Reporter: “Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago.” – He and his party are being hunted by the police for alleged explosions and incidents. After the battle with Ares, Percy’s name was cleared and it came out to the mortals that his party were hostages of Ares.
3. Gabe: “You got any cash?”, Percy narrating: That was it. No Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months? – His stepfather is a cruel man and he always makes Percy’s life miserable. His miserable life would not continue because he wouldn’t see him again because he was turned to stone.
4. Hades: “Return my property!”
Percy: “But I don’t have your helm. I came for the master bolt.” – He can’t clear his name by reason without getting killed. The odds are still in his favour when he got out of the Underworld safely through the pearls.
5. “Grover’s lower lip quivered. I was afraid he would start bleating, or worse, start eating the linoleum. Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger.” – On a quest without any adult watching over them, Percy’s party went into many troubles because of desperate needs. They managed through because of luck and a luck that lead them to a trap (Medusa’s trap).
The story is told by the main protagonist himself. It is a first-person limited POV. The first line of the story said that ‘Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.’ He was talking to the reader’s and I was referring to him. Knowing the events through the eyes of the character may allow readers to know what he thinks of (since he is the main protagonist). It only allows readers to see what the narrator sees and that is very hard because readers can only see what the narrator sees and what the narrator feels. If it was told in a different POV, it would be very surprising for the readers because the main characters actions are sometimes unpredictable. The story closely resembles the POV of The Use of Force by W.C. Williams. It is also told by what the main character sees and feels.
From what I read, I think the story is about how people handle their destinies, foretold or not. Destiny can only be paved by you and not others. The Oracle and its prophecy was the clear example of it. The prophecy was: “You shall go west, and face the god who has turned. You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned. You shall he betrayed by one who calls you a friend. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.” Percy went anyway even if he was destined to fail. He had courage and persistence in saving his mother. The prophecy was not completely true. Percy saved his mother, who he thought was the one that he will lose in the prophecy. Another symbol is the large Pine Tree, Thalia who was the daughter of Zeus who died and became the tree. The tree stood high on a hill. It was a symbol of hope. It was what the theme was about. Thalia stood as a beacon of hope for those whose destiny was foretold and she symbolizes that they should fight for it. The title may not be that related to the symbols, but it makes sense in the story. It was not similar to the literary works that I have read in our class.
Reading many texts in my HUMALIT class made me aware as to how I can define ‘literature’. I have been reading anything since I was little, from small labels of candy wrappers to huge billboards. Literature is what I believe to be anything written down to put purpose into meanings. First of all, why would someone right something if it weren’t needed? Something is written to drive meaning into purpose and the purpose into meaning. Although both ideas are nearly alike, they are both distinct from each other. Any sensible work written can be considered literature if it has both meaning and purpose. The most powerful messages do not always come from long texts. Even a letter, a line, or a symbol can create powerful messages enough to make a revolution. The wonderful six-word novel from Ernest Hemingway was enough to make a mind process and figure out the meaning and purpose of the novel. Simple words radiate complex messages. I agree to what Jannah said about the book. It almost has a mix of a book genre
My Reading Experience
The book was lent to me by one of my classmates and I was very happy that she lent it because I am a very passionate reader to books which involve Greek mythologies. I liked… no, I LOVED books like this since I was in grade school. I even know many mythological facts just by looking at a character’s name. The time I read the first page of the book, I knew that I was going to like it. The first-person limited POV made me feel like I was along with him, a spectator that can’t do anything but listen and watch as the events unfold. Later then did I know and feel that I should’ve been there from the start. I don’t know, my knowledge for Greek mythology was acting up and I went on a little Rage about how ignorant they were of the fact that water responds to Percy. Is it not enough proof for them to realize that Percy might be the son of Poseidon? I mean, come on! The guy can control water. I can’t think of anything that can control water than a water god, water creature, Aquarius, the avatar, Katara or someone from the water tribe, or a plumber! I can’t believe it took them that long to let Percy try something out.
I also like this book right now because it has some seriously funny lines. I really laughed out loud the night that I read Percy described after he humiliated Clarisse by flushing her with toilet water. It read, “I’d made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn’t understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.”
Anyway, the book was a little exciting as I read it. Only “little” because I think that many of the events was stereotypical. It was too predictable. And knowing what gods/goddesses or the Half-bloods can do, I immediately knew what was going to happen. Don’t know if it was luck, but every guess (except one) that I made about what was going to happen was correct, but not with Ares. I definitely did not expect that. But it made sense. Since summer break is nearing, I decided to read Homer’s “The Odyssey” (Thanks to this book) and try to understand every single page as much as I can. The first time I read the first 3 pages of the book, it gave me a headache and nothing made sense. Seriously, it did. This book helped me a lot. I look forward to the next book. J
Reference:
rickriordan.com. (2014, April 08). Biography – About Me: The Online World of Rick Riordan. Rickriordan.com. Retrieved April 11, 2014 from http://www.rickriordan.com/about-rick/biography.aspx
Image:
Rought, Karen. (2014, Feb. 17). Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief gets new cover. Hypable.com. Retrieved April 12, 2014 from http://www.hypable.com/2014/02/17/percy-jackson-lightning-thief-new-cover/
bryangacuan 