A LITERARY CRITICISM ON RICK RIORDAN’S

PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF

Any civilization that has ever existed requires myth. It is a symbolic story,

typically of unknown origin and at least partly conventional, that ostensibly relates actual

events and is particularly associated with religious beliefs, according to the Britannica

dictionary. Symbolic behavior (cult, ritual) and symbolic locations or artifacts are distinct

(temples, icons). It mainly talks about old and ancient myths of divine powers,

ancestors, or heroes that acts as a foundational form of a people's world view, such as

describing aspects of the natural world or defining society's psychology, rituals, or

values and the mainstream media uses type of folklore to try to equate the past with the

present.

Mythology has also long been used to educate people by instilling spiritual values

and establishing links between the present and the past. Mythology reintroduces people

to their roots and history, allowing them to learn about their mistakes. Rick Riordan uses

Greek mythology in his most well-known adventure book series, Percy Jackson and the

Olympians. The pentalogy is a popular entertainment or children's literature which ties

modern American society to Greek myths.

In this article, I will critique the aforementioned book using a bit of Marx's literary

approach, which is based on his ideas (and inspired by philosopher Georg Wilhelm

Friedrich Hegel), concerning with economic and social class divisions, as well as the

consequences and complexities of the capitalist system: "Marxism tries to show how our
socioeconomic structure is the ultimate basis of our understanding." (Lab, P. W. (n.d.).

Obviously take, this form of critique examines works of literature in terms of cultural

levels and human social standings.

In one of the interviews, Rick Riordan said that the series started as a bedtime

tale told to his son for three nights in a row, during which his son advised him to write it

as a novel. In this statement we can immediately tell that this type of literature is still

part of the modern-day creative expression. The main lead, Percy, goes on the series of

adventures. In the first book (The Lightning Thief), he discovered that he is a demigod,

son of Poseidon and he was accused of stealing Zeus’ lightning bolts. Riordan

correlated the famous Greek gods and goddesses and made his own Marxist utopia

portraying the characters in the series as physical and mentally disabled people as the

heroes who are in charge of saving the humanity against the curses of the gods. In the

story, Percy is a twelve-year old kid, expelled from every school he attends to, and a

victim of ADHD and dyslexia or physical impairment. However, the readers found out

that demigods like him are hardwired like that. They could not sit still in their classrooms

because their ADHD are the result of their “battle reflexes” and they are dyslexic

because their brains are hardwired to understand ancient languages like Greek.

Another character named Grover is also crippled, for he has a disease in his muscles,

but in fact he is a satyr, half human and half goat which are known to be guardians of

the demigods.

After he found out that he is a son of a god, he discovered Camp Half-blood,

home of the abandoned children of the gods and goddesses. Along with the other

characters namely Annabeth (daughter of Athena), Luke (son of Hermes), Grover

(satyr), Thalia (daughter of Zeus), and other campers of Camp Half-blood, Riordan

depicted them as modern-day heroes which apparently don’t have the similar strength

as the traditional heroes like Hercules and Achilles. Riordan describes a Marxist utopia

in which the marginalized proletariat manages to make the planet a better place. Half-

blood teenagers are weaker than gods and suffer from physical and mental illnesses.

Despite this, they participate in risky and daring missions for the greater good of

mankind.

In the end, Percy, along with demigod friends, saved the world from damnation

when he found out the true thief of the bolts, and saving the humanity in all.

REFERENCES:

Lab, P. W. (n.d.). Marxist Criticism //. Purdue Writing Lab.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/

literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/marxist_criticism.html

Rabbi, M. F. (n.d.). Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Reincarnation of Greek

Mythology as an Alternate Reality. Md. Fazle Rabbi - Academia.Edu.

https://www.academia.edu/30969590/Percy_Jackson_and_the_Olympians_Rein

carnation_of_Greek_Mythology_as_an_Alternate_Reality

Smith, J. Z., Bolle,. Kees W. and Buxton, Richard G.A. (2020, November 3). Myth.

Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/myth