I grew up reading stories centered around one hero. I read Harry Potter (Harry), watched Star Wars (Luke), and listened to a Chinese folk story (the main hero was a magical monkey). As a result, I believed that there could only be one hero in a story. This viewpoint was backed up by the fact that I lived a whole life through my perspective. In Non-Fiction Writing, we read an essay about how many people have a self-centered view of the world because they experience everything from their own perspective. The combination of this perception with my huge intake of stories about solo heroes made me an extremely self-centered person. I believed that I was the only hero in this world.
A particular narrative I was obsessed with was Percy Jackson. I read every book in the Percy Jackson series at least five times. That series, however, did not create a radical change in my view of the world. It was the series after Percy Jackson where my egotistical tendencies were flipped 180 degrees. Rick Riordan, the author of Percy Jackson, wrote a sequel series called “Heroes of Olympus.” This series didn’t have one main hero, unlike Percy Jackson (I mean, the series was named after him). There were actually seven heroes including Percy.
A particular narrative I was obsessed with was Percy Jackson. I read every book in the Percy Jackson series at least five times. That series, however, did not create a radical change in my view of the world. It was the series after Percy Jackson where my egotistical tendencies were flipped 180 degrees. Rick Riordan, the author of Percy Jackson, wrote a sequel series called “Heroes of Olympus.” This series didn’t have one main hero, unlike Percy Jackson (I mean, the series was named after him). There were actually seven heroes including Percy.
You may be wondering, “David, the
switch from one to seven protagonists isn’t super crazy.” Wrong. Switching between different characters' perspective actually made me conscious about my self-centeredness. In the series, I was able to watch multiple characters develop and grow, becoming essential pieces to defeating the evil earth goddess Gaea. On his own, Percy Jackson would've been destroyed within seconds. It was quite a shocking discovery when I realized at the end of the book: "Wow. Everyone mattered." I realized that it wasn't just Percy. From then on, I began to become more conscious of others and less self-centered. I learned about the power of teamwork and that one person can't go it alone. Suddenly, I wasn't the most important person in the world; I was one out of millions of special and unique people.
The heroes of Olympus didn't have a smooth ride to victory. Throughout the series, they faced huge obstacles from losing friends to getting trapped in Tartarus. It was wonderful being able to watch each character becoming stronger and develop into their own, unique hero. In fact, I began to respect some characters as the series progressed. One of the heroes I admired was Jason Grace. Jason and Percy would always fight and argue throughout the series. Although I was a diehard Percy fan, I couldn't help but feel that Jason's point was valid sometimes. I soon began to realize that even the best heroes are sometimes wrong. As a result, I began trying to see things from other people's perspective. Overtime, this practice has helped me become a better person. Thanks to Rick Riordan, I'm not a stuck-up and egotistical brat today.
Jason was far and away the best character of the second series and this is hill I'll die on. (No pun intended.)
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading your post, I was struck by how similarly I thought to you when I was younger. I, like many readers, was quite surprised by the addition of new perspectives in a universe I already found compelling through Percy. But as I read more, not only was I able to give more depth to my characterization of Percy (seeing his flaws through his debates with Jason really illuminated him), but I was able to see how much our views of the world are shaped by our own experiences. As well as how this is both critical to our success yet sometimes detrimental to our perception of events. Great post, David!
This is a great post David, and I love some of the points you made, although I actually experienced this backwards. When I was a kid, I read the first 3 books of Heroes of Olympus before I read the Percy Jackson series, and I remember feeling almost blindsided when I finally read Percy Jackson (specifically, I couldn't get used to NOT having Annabeth's perspective on everything). I think one of the greatest things about Heroes of Olympus is, like you said, how much of the story is just unapologetically about the power of friendship and teamwork. It's not often to get a story with such basic themes that isn't cheesy or childish (well, sometimes).
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Honestly I can kinda relate to your post. Having multiple heroes really stuck out to me when I was first reading the second series, too, and now I find that I like stories like that. It was really interesting how that facet of the Heroes of Olympus stories changed your outlook on life. Also Percy is still the best character real talk.
ReplyDeleteOkay not to be a hater but it took me SO LONG to like Jason as a character, especially when both his and Percy's perspectives were included in a book. Remember that one time where Jason and his lightning horse were about to attack Percy on Blackjack?? You best believe ya girl was rooting for the CLEARLY superior character all tea all shade-
ReplyDeleteIn all serious, this was really interesting. How you talked about a fictional series prompting serious self reflection and eventual change in your life was really striking, and it shows how much we let fantasy worlds and characters affect our actual reality. I didn't realize that being drawn to a single character perspective story was directly related to one's ego and level of self centeredness (a major yikes tbh).
As a person who also grew up watching and reading about the journeys of the hero you mentioned (even the magical monkey), your comments really resonated with me. I absolutely adored (and still adore today) the series following Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I got every book I could convince my parents to buy in the series, and checked out the rest from the library when I had the opportunity. I have probably reread the series 3 or 4 times now.... and variety is the spice of life! It's just kinda cool when you can follow th journeys of several protagonists in the same book.
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