Dealing with Change

2/22/12

Nick Majeskie

Author’s Note: This is an essay on why dealing with change is a theme.

"There were many things happening at Yancy Academy that day, traffic jams, the sounds of car horns, and the smell of gasoline burning from many New Yorkers cars. This was an average day for me and my boring life, oh yeah I was attacked by my math teacher who suddenly could grow talons and bat wings" (Fury). This could have been what Percy was thinking on the bus ride home to his apartment. The last sentence shows how dealing with change is a theme in Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief.

One character in the book is Percy Jackson and his life is involved with the theme dealing with change. His dad is Poseidon, and he has to deal with this change in a huge way. Since his dad is Poseidon, monsters are always searching for him and wanting to kill him. He deals with this change by going to Camp Half-Blood, Camp Half-Blood is a place where monsters can't go unless summoned. Another reason dealing with change is a theme is when Percy finds out Poseidon is his dad. When he finds out he has to be moved to a different cabin by himself and is treated like he is the most powerful person alive. Percy deals with this by just sticking with his friends at the Hermes cabin. Since he has to deal with this change he will never have a normal life.

A conflict in the book is that the Zeus's master bolt was stolen and Zeus was accusing Percy of taking it. As well as the master bolt stolen, the dark helm was stolen. Percy went from having a normal life to a kid that is wanted died by two of the three most powerful gods. He dealt with all this with anger; his driving power is that Hades took his mother away from him that is why he never became scared like a normal kid would. Another conflict is how he is supposed to get to the underworld. Percy deals with this change by going with his friends to the underworld, and takes a train from New York to Los Angeles.

This theme is just not in one book it is in the next book in the series, Sea of Monsters. It deals with a lot of change; the Golden Fleece that protects Camp Half-Blood gets stolen. Percy and Annabeth go after it and since nowhere is safe they are constantly fighting monsters. Percy gets turned into a hamster, so he has to deal with his new surrounding which makes his life a lot harder. As well as that all of his favorite camp directors get fired because they are accused of stealing the Golden Fleece. He deals with this by going out and trying to find the Golden Fleece and get his camp directors jobs back.

As you can see this is a reoccurring theme in the book The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters. Percy deals with change, his dad is Poseidon and monsters chase after him wanting to kill him. So he goes to Camp Half-Blood where monsters can’t come in unless they are summoned. That shows how dealing with change is a theme in the book.