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Harper Massey
Mr. King
Pre-AP English II
27 February 2015
How to Read Literature like a Professor SPES
In How to Read Literature like a Professor, I studied the chapter Its Greek to Me. This
chapter talks about the three types of myths, conflicts, and struggles a character will go through.
The main ideas in this chapter can be found in the book, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief,
which features greek mythological creatures, character struggles, and conflict.
These main points are found commonly throughout the book. In the book, Percy Jackson
and the Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson, a twelve year old boy, discovers he is a demi-God, part
God, part human and is the son of Poseidon. Annabeth says to Percy, Your father isnt dead
Percy. Hes one of the Olympians. (100) Percy struggles to accept this idea that his father is an
Olympian, and that he is not truly a human. Percy is told by Echidna, "You have no faith. You do
not trust the gods. I cannot blame you, little coward. (219) Also, in How to Read Literature like
a Professor, the different conflicts a character can go through are man versus nature, man versus
self, man versus man, and man versus society. The different struggles include, the need to protect
ones family, need to maintain ones dignity, determination to remain faithful, and the struggle to
return home. One of the main ideas in The Lightning Thief, was finally reaching Olympus with
the lightning bolt. "Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to
choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western
civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the

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Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight, (143) is how the world is described if Percy does not
complete his quest.
These quotes and main ideas from the novel coordinate with the ideas in How to Read
Literature like a Professor in many ways. We see Percy dealing with a Man versus self conflict
when he finds out he is not entirely human, but a demi-God. This is supported by Echidnas
quote to him on page 219. Percy does not truly have faith in the Gods, therefore is lacking faith
in himself. A struggle from How to Read Literature like a Professor found in The Lightning Thief
is the Need to protect ones family. We see this in Percys actions to return the lightning bolt to
help his father. Seeing Percy have conflicts and struggles that are recognized in Chapter 9 of
How to Read Literature like a Professor shows how the ideas are found in the novel as well.
After analyzing both How to Read Literature like a Professor and The Lightning Thief,
we see that the theory from Chapter 9, Its Greek to Me, is found in the novel, The Lightning
Thief. We concluded this from quotes in the novel and the theories in chapter 9 that show Percy
Jackson with an internal struggle and conflict, while dealing with greek mythology. Specifically,
Percy deals with a man versus self conflict when finding out his father in Poseidon, and the need
to protect ones family, when he goes on a quest to return the lightning bolt back to his father.