Blog 7: Hero's Quest and Film

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan



The movie “The Lightning Thief,” which is based on a novel by Rick Riordan, contains many elements of the Hero’s Journey.

Departure:
Call to Adventure – The hero, Percy Jackson, lived a normal life until one day when he was attacked by his teacher who turned into a monster. Later he is attacked by another monster and is sent to a camp for people called demigods. He learns that he is the son of Poseidon, who is a very powerful God. He is accused of stealing a Lightning Bolt from another God and he has to go find it.
Refusal of the Call – In the beginning, Percy is very weak compared to all the other demigods and he has no idea how to get the Lightning Bolt back.
Supernatural Aid – In his quest to find the weapon, he is aided by the camp counselor Chiron who gives him a magical and very powerful sword.
Crossing of the First Threshold – When he first enters the camp, he learns of many things about the world that he never knew before. He also starts his quest in Manhattan and has to travel by land all the way to California while being chased by monsters.
Belly of the Whale – Percy leaves his normal life to go into the camp and start his training to get stronger.

Initiation:
The Road of Trials – During Percy’s journey, he meets a lot of people and has to do certain task like escaping from traps, collecting magical pearls and traveling to the underworld.
Women as Temptress – In one part of his journey, he enters a casino in Las Vegas and is given a lot of money. The place makes everyone stay there for the rest of their life and forget about everything else in the world.
The Ultimate Boon – In the end, Percy is able to find the Lightning Bolt and is also able to stop the war between the Gods by finding out that they were all tricked by another being.

Return:
The Crossing of the Return Threshold – In the end, Percy learns a lot about the secret world around him and the true powers that he has. He returns to tell everybody what actually happened and who the true enemy is.
Master of Two World – Percy has found a balance with the two worlds around him and decides to stay at the camp for more training.

Work Cited:
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Dir. Chris Columbus. Writer. Rick Riordan Perf. Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, and Jake Abel. 20th Century Fox, 2010. Film.

Monomyth. Wikipedia. Web. April 24, 2010.