Character Analysis: The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief is a novel written by Rick Riordan. In the novel, Riordan follows archetypes similar to other literature. The story line follows the quest because Percy’s ordinary home is made unordinary, and then he goes on a search for the stolen lightning bolt. The conflict is fire versus ice. Percy has knowledge that he did not steal the lightning bolt and saves humanity, while Luke and Kronos seek to bring death and revenge to all those around them.
The hero enters the story as the narrator, Percy Jackson. Percy’s ordinary world is at a private school for troubled teens where the mentor, Grover, acts as Percy’s best friend. At first Grover hides his identity by acting as a normal student in order to protect Percy from the monsters
that tend to enter Percy’s ordinary world, but he is unable to do so for long. Mrs. Dobbs, the shapeshifter, attacks Percy, and after Percy overhears Grover discussing Percy’s abnormal status as a demigod. Although at first he doesn’t believe Grover, when his mom takes him to the beach Grover comes running yelling that “it” is following behind him. “It” turned out to be a giant minotaur. Percy fights a giant minotaur, and by doing so accepts his call to adventure. The minotaur murders Percy’s mother and Percy himself has just enough time to cross into the camp without dying, literally crossing the threshold. Percy stays at the camp for a while, and meets Chiron, the herald. Chiron challenges Percy in his training, and even suggests that Percy go on the quest to save the missing lightning bolt that Zeus thinks Percy stole.
He gives Percy's sword Riptide, and warns him of the dangers ahead. Next, the approach to the inmost cave arrives when Percy accepts the quest and goes off to save the lightning bolt for his dad. Percy leaves Half-Blood Hill with Riptide, Grover, and his platonic ideal Annabeth. Tests follow Percy during the approach. He meets one of his enemies, Medusa, who attempts to turn him into a statue. His other big enemy, Hades, believes that Percy stole the lightning bolt, but Percy blames Hades for the disappearance. Percy also has his allies. His dad, the god Poseidon, saved Percy’s life when he fell off the bridge into the water, and Annabeth and Grover help him along the whole way. Percy continues searching for the lightning bolt and then runs into Aries in a diner. Percy receives the reward when Aries transports the lightening bolt to Percy’s bag. Later that same day the ordeal takes place. The ordeal is a fight between Aries and Percy breaks out, and Aries turns into his immortal form. One look at Aries would cause Percy to die, but (thank the gods) Aries disappears. Percy returns the bolt to Zeus, and Zeus is pleased to receive the bolt. The road back happens when Percy
goes back to camp. He went to talk to Luke, the shadow nemesis, and Luke takes him to the woods to talk and drink a coke. Percy agrees to talk with him not knowing that Luke schemed the stealing of the lightening bolt to start a war with the gods. When they walk into the woods Luke sets a deadly scorpion on Percy. The lethal scorpion stings Percy, and Percy hobbles back into camp nearly dead. Percy is resurrected when Chiron and Annabeth nurse him back to health.
Percy starts off the story not knowing who he really is or where he came from.
As Percy travels through his many tests, he learns his dyslexia and ADHD no longer define him. He is no longer bound by the simple, mortal world because he is a son of a god. The trials he faces allow him to gain confidence in himself and in others. He finally receives the ability to do what he was born to be, a
hero.