The Hero's Journey--Essay by Tyson

                                                                                                                                                       Tyson 
  The Hero's Journey is just a series of steps that makes a hero an inspiring role model. when you here stories about multiple conflicts or just one major crisis and someone standing up to battle against evil and wrong doing, it usually has most of the steps in The Hero's Journey pattern.When people write stories about a hero that has the characteristics of being strong, courageous, etc. it shows all of the standards that the author refers to as heroic, and in a way perfect. It also shows the what the author defines a role model, a hero, and generally a figure that should be followed.

  In the book Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson is a Demi-god and the son of Poseidon the Greek god of the sea. Percy goes through obstacles and multiple steps in the pattern to prove himself a hero and in the end he is referred to as a hero because he followed the steps.

  The first step that i noticed in the book that Percy went through is when Percy had an irregular birth and a very royal father. When he finds out that he is the son of the sea god Poseidon, automatically you understand that their is a lot to be expected of him and that he is a very important figure.

  Another step that he went through at the beginning of the book was that even though he didn't know it, he was the son of a god and had to be "hidden" in a way so that he could be safe. The quote" so that he could be safe", already foreshadows on what danger he might have to face, being a Demi-god. He would constantly be in danger because of his godlike scent, so his mother (knowing what he is) found a "overly scented" human/ husband so that Percy's scent could be covered and he could be safe.

  Something that is not in the Hero's Journey Pattern that I believe should be, is, in just about every hero's story, they usually notice certain irregular gifts or some power that sets the character apart from being a normal human being. For an example Hercules had unbelievable strength, and in the movie Harry Potter, Harry could talk to snakes and make unbelievable things happen. But in Percy's case, he was amazing in water and could interact with it in impossible ways.

  When audiences notice a power that the "soon-to-be" hero has, they expect more from the character and it builds suspense for the audience because they want to see how they will put their power to use. The reader also start to wonder if, since they have the obvious gift, if their is going to be anymore to be uncovered.

  Besides the heroes having a gift, they also have multiple odd events that happens to them before they realize what they are. For instance, Harry Potter made multiple things happen just by thinking about it, Hercules found his medallion with a god symbol on it and fights demons when he was little, and Percy ran into the Minotaur.

  The next step is when Percy gets "called on an adventure". His mother takes him to Camp Half Blood to make him realize what he is and his potential. When this happens in a hero's story, it is usually when the realize his gifts and puts themselves to the test and rises above and beyond to their highest standards (or tries to).

  Usually, when a hero gets called to adventure they usually have a special trainer. Hercules had Philiptites, Harry Potter had Dumbledore, and Superman had his real father. With Percy, he has multiple trainers but his main trainer was Chiron. Most of the time, I have notices that the trainers that are chosen to teach the heroes usually have a reputation and a record for training famous fighters and heroes or used to be one. For example, Philiptites (before Hercules) trained multiple famous heroes like Achilles and Theseus (or so it says in the movie) and plays a very important part in the story line. Chiron known as a very wise Centaur and was somewhat favored by the gods.

  Another part of getting called to adventure is fighting a villain or conflict/crisis. This is usually where the climax happens and is when the amateur proves himself a true hero and saves the day. With Percy, he gets called on a quest and goes through multiple obstacles to retrieve the Master Bolt and Helm of Darkness. His main two obstacles are how he faces his uncle Ares and battles epically. He also has a conflict at the end that pulls the rest of the story together when he faces Luke, a descendant of the Titan King Kronos.

  The next step can happen in more than one part of the story. It is when the hero almost dies or goes to the underworld. This part is usually very dramatic to build suspense for the audience again and make them wonder how the hero will bounce back and redeem them self. Perseus both almost dies multiple times and purposely goes to the underworld to face his uncle Lord Hades.

  The last two steps are (in my opinion) one step in the hero's journey. It is when piece is restored and the hero becomes royal in some way or famous and/or gets the girl of his dreams. In this story Percy doesn't have a dream girl but after he uncovers the truth and returns the Master Bolt and Helm he proves himself a true hero and everything ends in piece.

 So, I think that the hero pattern is very common in stories and doesn't need to be followed/taught. The Lightning Thief is a great example of the Hero's Journey Pattern and I recommend that you take my opinion and read it!