Perseus ‘Percy’ Jackson: The Re-Invention Of Mythological Characters In Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief
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PERSEUS ‘PERCY’ JACKSON: THE RE-INVENTION OF MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS IN RICK RIORDAN’S PERCY JACKSON AND THE
A THESIS Submitted as a partial fulfillment of Sarjana Sastra degree
English Department of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University
By: Yunita Ariani Putri
C0309072 ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY 2013 commit to user
commit to user PRONOUNCEMENT Name : Yunita Ariani Putri Student Number : C0309072 This research entitledPerseus ‘Percy’ Jackson: The Re-Invention of Mythological
Characters in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is neither a
kind of intended plagiarism nor written by other. All works and pieces of writings consulted in this research are cited properly.
If someday it can be proven that I cheat, I am ready to take any consequences given to me from the English Department, Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts,
Sebelas Maret University.
Surakarta, July 2013 Researcher
Yunita Ariani Putri
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Dream as if you will live forever, And live as if you’ll die today.
Taka, ONE OK ROCK (C.h.a.o.s.m.y.t.h.) Words do hurt people,
But they can be encouraging too, So let’s use them to encourage
Toranosuke Sugi-sensei (Scrap Teacher) No single thing in this world exists for nothing.
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For Family and Friends And for those who worship the beauty of the words ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to thank God Almighty for always blessing and guiding me so that this research can be conducted and finished smoothly. In writing this thesis down, I realize that I have been receiving tons of encouragements from many people. Therefore, I would like to sincerely express my deepest gratitude here.
1. Drs. Riyadi Santoso, M.Ed., Ph.D., as the Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University.
2. Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, M.A., Ph.D., the Head of English Department, for all the supports given to us and for being so kind in taking care of us.
3. Yusuf Kurniawan, S.S., M.A., my academic supervisor, for all supports given.
4. Drs. Mugijatna, M.Si., Ph.D., my thesis supervisor, for being such a great mentor for me, and for the guidance, advices, and supports given to me during the research process and even before that.
5. Dra. Endang Sri Astuti, M.S. and Mr. Yuyun Kusdianto, S.S., M.A. for the helps, guidance and advices given to me from the time I raised the very first idea for this research until it could finally be fixed and steady.
6. All lecturers of English Department, for the great lessons about everything, not only about the courses but also about life.
7. My small but lively family. Bunda, for every support, encouragement, and prayer specially uttered for me, and for always giving me a gentle push every time I feel tired and/or lazy too. It isn’t even sufficient enough for me to
commit to user repay everything forever. Ayah, for all the supports, pleasant talks and discussions, and, we have done a very nice race. Laras nee-chan, the completion of this thesis proves that I am not only fangirling all the time!! XP. Dek Anggik, yatta!! \(^o^)v 8. My best friends in English Department. Sulistyani Sari and Ivana Nova, and
Uri and Artika, for the great time we have spent and are going to spend together later on. Nurlita Hapsari, for the nice discussions and talks about everything, and also for being so supportive toward all my craziness and so kindly responsive in getting me out of all my uneasiness.
9. Sanni Supriyanto, for supports and discussions from the very beginning of this research, and for helping me with the reference e-books.
10. Mr. Agus Hernawan, for the beautiful words done encouraging me so much, I’ll try my best not to forget them all – read a lot… write a lot… travel a lot… fall in love every day.
11. My fantastic four buddies – Shefield, Dewo, and Yony – for the bittersweet days we’ve shared from the very beginning. Mbak Virgin, Yessy, Dinar, Tirah, Mbak Yuni, Retno, Feny, Mbak Nabil, Mas Adiwena, Mbak Dita, Mas Qodir, Mas Cahya, and all other literature worshipers
- – old and new– for the great discussions about literatures and other stuffs. Carpe diem guys. There are many great stories out there in this world, and they include ours too.
12. All my awesome colleagues from ED ’09. My closest ‘relatives’ from American Studies, for the cool discussions we had on our shared courses. All my awesome senpai and kouhai in English Department. Mbak Novin and
commit to user Cahyo in particular, for the advices that lifted my spirit up once I got into my depression mode.
13. Rick Riordan and Paulo Coelho, for giving birth to so many cool stories and for uttering those great sayings with which I agree in many ways. Joseph Campbell, for coining up an everlasting model of archetypal characters, and for composing an excellent book about myths.
14. ONE OK ROCK, for the spirits and powers transferred to me through your songs and all those stuffs
- – which make me enjoy every second of my writing and research process
- –, for delivering lights and passions into my life and my cloudy mind (and more often disturbing it too), and for the unintended billions of slaps given to me for many things as I haven’t done my best yet. Every single note and word means a lot for me. Dir en Grey, for ‘teaching’ me about hard work and totality in doing everything.
15. My online buddies, local and abroad. Kaizen ‘kai-chan’ Zori, for taking care of me in a very friendly manner. Jerald-kun, for the fluffy yet deep talks about dreams and lives and all.
And for all those people who have done transferring prayers and powers to me, whose names have not been addressed personally above, thank you for being so kind and always being so willing to take care of me.
Surakarta, July 2013.
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Yunita Ariani Putri
TABLE OF CONTENT Approval of The Thesis Supervisor ....................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Approval of The Board of Examiners .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Chapter I: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1 A. Background ............................................................................................... 1 B. Problem Statement .................................................................................... 6 C. Research Objectives .................................................................................. 7 D. Research Benefits...................................................................................... 7 E. Scope of Study .......................................................................................... 8 F. Research Methodology ............................................................................. 8
1. Type of Research ............................................................................... 8
2. Theory and Approach ........................................................................ 8
3. Sources of Data ................................................................................ 11
4. Technique of Data Collection .......................................................... 12
5. Technique of Data Analysis ............................................................. 12
G. Thesis Organization ................................................................................ 13
Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 15 A. Previous Researches................................................................................ 15 B. Cultural Studies ....................................................................................... 18 C. Theory of Archetype ............................................................................... 21
1. Archetypal/Mythological Criticism ................................................. 23 2.
Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces ..................... 24 a.
The Hero’s Journey ................................................................... 24
b. Characters Archetype ................................................................ 27
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D. Ideology .................................................................................................. 28
E. Rick Riordan and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief ..................... 31
Chapter III: ANALYSIS ................................................................................... 33 A. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief ’s Seven Character Archetypes . 33
1. The Hero .......................................................................................... 34
2. Mentor .............................................................................................. 40
3. Threshold Guardian ......................................................................... 45
4. The Herald ....................................................................................... 50
5. Shape-shifter .................................................................................... 54
6. Trickster ........................................................................................... 58
7. The Shadow ..................................................................................... 65 B. Rick Riordan’s Ideology in Composing the Novel ................................. 70
1. Riordan as a Father: His View toward Special Kids ....................... 70
2. Riordan as a Teacher: His Aim in Turning Children into Readers .. 75 3.
Riordan’s Messages: His Concerns about Family and Mentor Character ................................................................................................. 80
Chapter IV: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ............................ 86 A. Conclusion .............................................................................................. 86 B. Recommendation .................................................................................... 87 Works Cited .......................................................................................................... 89
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ABSTRACT
Yunita Ariani Putri. C0309072. 2013. Perseus ‘Percy’ Jackson: The Re-invention of Mythological Characters in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and
the Lightning Thief. Undergraduate Thesis. Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts.
Sebelas Maret University.The objectives of this research are to explain how the Greek mythological characters are reflected and re-invented in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the
Lightning Thief and to
understand Riordan’s ideology conveyed throughout the novel. This research belongs to cultural studies with the application of archetypal/mythological approach. The main data of this research are collected from the characters, characterizations, and plot of the novel while supporting data come from any articles and interviews related to the novel and its author. These interviews are several interviews done by some interviewers and are all retrieved from the internet. The first problem statement about the archetypal characters is based on Joseph Campbell’s model. The findings of the first analysis are then continued afterward to answer the second problem statement about Riordan
’s ideology conveyed through the novel by also connecting it with the situations in the United States where he lives. Based on the archetypal analysis toward the characters,
Joseph Campbell’s model for archetypal characters is proven not to be one-to-one classification. Although Riordan may have his own interpretations toward Greek mythological characters appeared in his novel, their characteristics are still stuck closely to the original versions of those existed in Greek myths. The second analysis sees that
Riordan’s ideology has been influenced by the society where he lives and vice versa. His ideology within the work influences the society in the point that children’s interests in mythology and in reading books increased after the work was published. The ideology studied in this research focuses on Riordan
’s beliefs and his ways of seeing the world. The statuses he bears both as a father and as an ex- teacher also take part in shaping his ideology. His status as a father of an ADHD+D son influences his beliefs that all kids can be special and it is represented by the demigods within the novel. Riordan, as an ex-teacher, concerns a lot about kids as reluctant readers and also the need of mentor characters. It can be seen in his revival of Chiron the Centaur as a mentor character in the novel.
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Key words: Greek mythology, archetypal characters, author ’s ideology.