comparing and contrasting Odysseus and Percy Jackson 
Rachel Passig
Mrs. Reynolds
World Literature II
21 October 2014
Comparing and Contrasting Odysseus and Percy Jackson
Why are not all humans exactly the same? What separates humans apart from each other, aside from their external appearance? Each individual human being is unique and extraordinary, due to the different characteristics they possess. Granting the fact that humans having similar qualities is a frequent occurrence, no two individuals attain identical personalities. Comparing and contrasting the characteristics of Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey, an Epic Poem taking place in ancient Greek culture, and Percy Jackson, the main character in the novel The Lightning Thief, likenesses and differences within their character traits are easily able to be recognized. Although Odysseus and Percy both exhibited loyalty and bravery, the characteristic of confidence was not equally shared between them.
Odysseus and Percy had a lot in common, especially a strong, passionate love towards their families to whom they treated with utmost loyalty. The two characters were both separated from their loved ones and were fully aware of the dangerous journeys that being reunited with them entailed. When Odysseus was living a luxurious, care-free life on Calypso’s island, he could have easily stayed there and avoided all of the obstacles that laid in the path of returning to his family (Homer 67). Odysseus’s family was more important to him than a life of indulgences and out of entire loyalty he left the island. Similarly, Percy was also given the option to choose the effortless, self-benefitting route or the dangerous, self-sacrificing route. After his mother was seized to the underworld, he could have accepted that she was deceased and given up (Riordan 113). Percy 's loyalty and love towards his mother was so great that instead of assuming she was gone forever, he traveled to the underworld in hopes of saving her. Percy and Odysseus risked their lives and
Mrs. Reynolds
World Literature II
21 October 2014
Comparing and Contrasting Odysseus and Percy Jackson
Why are not all humans exactly the same? What separates humans apart from each other, aside from their external appearance? Each individual human being is unique and extraordinary, due to the different characteristics they possess. Granting the fact that humans having similar qualities is a frequent occurrence, no two individuals attain identical personalities. Comparing and contrasting the characteristics of Odysseus, the main character in The Odyssey, an Epic Poem taking place in ancient Greek culture, and Percy Jackson, the main character in the novel The Lightning Thief, likenesses and differences within their character traits are easily able to be recognized. Although Odysseus and Percy both exhibited loyalty and bravery, the characteristic of confidence was not equally shared between them.
Odysseus and Percy had a lot in common, especially a strong, passionate love towards their families to whom they treated with utmost loyalty. The two characters were both separated from their loved ones and were fully aware of the dangerous journeys that being reunited with them entailed. When Odysseus was living a luxurious, care-free life on Calypso’s island, he could have easily stayed there and avoided all of the obstacles that laid in the path of returning to his family (Homer 67). Odysseus’s family was more important to him than a life of indulgences and out of entire loyalty he left the island. Similarly, Percy was also given the option to choose the effortless, self-benefitting route or the dangerous, self-sacrificing route. After his mother was seized to the underworld, he could have accepted that she was deceased and given up (Riordan 113). Percy 's loyalty and love towards his mother was so great that instead of assuming she was gone forever, he traveled to the underworld in hopes of saving her. Percy and Odysseus risked their lives and
Cited: Giotto. "Bronze Age Civilizations- The Mycenaean’s." Mr. Giotto 's Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Homer, and Robert Fitzgerald. The Odyssey. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998. Print. "Mycenaean Age (600-1100 BC)." Ancient Greece. N.p., 2003. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief. Vol. 1. New York: Miramax; Puffin, 2005. Print. Percy Jackson and the Olympians.