ShmoopTube

00:01

We Speak Student!

00:03

Percy Jackson lightning thief a la Shmoop

00:06

Ah! summer camp a place for songs,

00:10

sunburns, and smores. And in Percy Jackson's case to find out that your

00:15

half god

00:16

illegitimate child of Posiedon. We don't think there's a song for that

00:21

In the Lightning Thief, references to Greek mythology thrown around faster

00:24

then Zeus lightening bolts, uh, one of which,

00:31

lightning isn't the only thing being stolen here. Rick Riordan uses his literary

00:35

five-finger discount

00:36

on Greek mythology as a whole stealing it from Olympus and putting it into his

00:40

book

00:41

Does The Lightning Thief accurately represent the mythology Rick Riordan Steeles. uh er a

00:46

borrows? Well in the lightning thief we have kyron as a teacher

00:51

no horseplay! And in mythology he is a tutor to the Great Greek heroes

00:56

pay attention you guys we have Poseidon ruling over the sea

00:59

just like he did in mythology then there's Hade's in charge of the dead

01:03

check there as well and don't forget that babe Medusa

01:07

turning people into stone in serious need of a perm

01:12

Though, if you take a closer look you might think these guys are just pale

01:15

limitations of their

01:16

actual mythical selves. Would Tyron really be hoffng in around kids summer camp?

01:21

Can you really see Medusa selling statues by the side of the road and Percus the

01:26

studly Greek hero who

01:28

slayed Medusa? you really think he go by the name uh

01:31

Percy? no offense to anyone else out there named percy

01:34

the characters in the lightning thief seem more like caricatures then gods and

01:38

monsters fresh from ancient Greece

01:40

would you want an exaggerated cartoon representing you

01:43

however Percy Jackson and the lightning thief doesn't claim to be a text book

01:47

for mythology 101

01:49

it's a young adult book about summer camp and camps about having fun

01:53

if your idea of fun is singing awful songs and scratching bug bites until

01:57

you bleed

01:58

but it certainly isn't about hard-hitting scholarly facts. How does

02:02

lightning thief handle the mythology it

02:04

borrows? does it actually depicted it? Does it make a mockery of it?

02:08

Or does it not really matter what it does with its source material.

02:12

because its just a really good story. Shmoop amongst yourselves.

02:18

no horseplay

Full Transcript