ENGL 2110 week 5 Assignment Essay
Compare and Contrast
A large part of my childhood growing up was reading different book series, and almost personally building connections and relationships with these characters and stories; one series being the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. Each one of these books heavily impacted the capacity of my imagination, so when I saw the movies in theaters, I expected the same experience. However, these movies were a far cry from what the books were and had different values as a whole. The film differed from the books in three significant ways: The changing of the core of many characters, the chronological differences in plot, and abandoning characters and stories in the book— but these movies remain a visual representation of that universe. ENGL 2110 week 5 Assignment Essay
First, the movie took away core pieces from the main characters. For example, in the first book of the series, the main character, Percy, is 12 years old. His youthfulness is in many ways connected to his personality and nature, and as he ages throughout the books, his age corresponds to maturity in its entirety. On the other hand, in the movie, Percy begins as a 16-year-old, which combats different areas of the original plot. This age difference is true for other main characters such as Grover and Annabeth, and this choice stunted the personalities of these characters. The whole core of the books revolves around the youthfulness of the characters and the following of their development. Although both versions portray Percy as a teenager, the age difference dramatically changes the tone of both the book and movies. In the book series, we see a 12-year-old Percy who is sarcastic, witty, and naive; someone who you grow to love and is a breath of fresh air. In movie series, this older, angsty, apprehensive character creates an atmosphere different from the lighthearted originals: a departure from the books. ENGL 2110 week 5 Assignment Essay
Another way the movies differed from the books was the chronological order of the plot. One big chunk plot in the book revolved around Kronos, a Greek titan, and he eventually reviving towards the end of the series. His revival created an ultimate conflict for the last book in the series and drove the progression of the story. Contradictory to the book, Kronos is revived in the second installment of the movie series. Because he is revived and the conflict is solved so early on, the difference in sequence change is evident and even changes the pace of the entire story. The movie rendition rushes to get to the action and centers on physical conflict. On the flip side, the book rendition fixates on the journey of adolescence, and the character’s growth as they are forced to adapt to their dangerous missions and combative situations.
The third way the movies differed from the books was leaving out characters and stories. Often, movie adaptions of books will cut out content to condense their script into a single film. In the book series, three significant characters helped steer the plot: Clarissa, Ares, and Dionysus. These characters did not exist in the movies, and the plot worked around those characters to condense the film. Not only were characters scrapped, but also backstories were not explained. One of the main antagonists of the movie, Luke, had a backstory that told why he was the way he was and almost made the audience sympathize with him in spite of being evil. Because the movies are different in this light, his character comes off as more of a ruthlessly evil villain, instead of a person. ENGL 2110 week 5 Assignment Essay
Although the movies and books have a general disconnect in continuity, the movies were nonetheless an accurate imagining of the Percy Jackson universe. The setting is “Camp Half-Blood,” a summer camp of sorts geared towards kids that find out they are demigods. The book explains the camp to be a traditional summer campsite but filled with training areas and fields for them to train in battle. The movie does an excellent job of bringing the campsite to life, with the facilities being presented in the film in a rustic way. The main plotline of the movie was as follows: Percy goes on a quest to locate Zeus’ Master Bolt and to save his mother from Hades; traveling with his friends Grover and Annabeth. This was the basis of the book that drove the overall pacing of the story— which also entirely exists in the movie.
These two versions of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series differed from each other in many ways. The original book series definitely appealed to a younger and youthful audience in its time, whereas the movie series may have enticed both youth and adults alike to watch its content. Despite the differences, the backbone of the movie is still executed in its production, making for a movie that will stand the test of time. The Percy Jackson series is one that is known by many people and is a story comparable to the legendary Harry Potter series. Although these two versions of the same tale differed and paralleled in many ways, both of them have their own audiences that enjoy them uniquely. ENGL 2110 week 5 Assignment Essay