Percy Jackson, The Last Olympian

Vince Carrozza

Character sketch

My first impression of the main character of my book was that he was kind of like me. He is dyslexic like I am and has A.D.H.D. like I do. Then I kept reading I noticed he had some of the same problems in school that I had or do have. Then I read a little more and things got weird and I realized he is nothing like me considering he is part god, he has gotten kicked out of every school he has gone to, and has no friends. Other than that he seemed, at first, like an average kid in school. He wasn’t the coolest guy around or anything, but he seemed pretty normal.

As the book goes on he starts to get the characteristics of being brave, lucky, talented, powerful, and having qualities of leadership. He goes on many quests and through the quests you start to pick up how he is brave. When he fights the titan lord Kronos, he does not run away; he stays and fights like a warrior. He stands tall (figuratively) and shows bravery. He is lucky when his friends come just at the right time to save him. Like at the end of the battle with Kronos, Clarisse and the Ares cabin comes in to save him from a dragon monster. He is talented and powerful when he creates the hurricane to beat the Hyperion the titan. No other demigod can do that, or anything close to that. He shows the qualities of leadership when he leads his armies to fight Kronos and his army.

Other characters in the book say the same thing that I do. They say they depend on him to lead them against the army of Kronos. They are astonished by his great power to create a hurricane. They realize how brave he is to fight Kronos, the titan lord, all by himself. They don’t say anything about him being lucky, but its obvious he has his lucky moments. There are many more things other characters say in the book, but I think those are the most important.

Early in the book Percy says, “if I really had the power, what difference would a week make? I could end this threat right here by taking down Kronos. Hey, I’d fought monsters and gods before” (21). In this quote Percy shows his bravery, and from what other characters have said he makes the conclusion, that he is powerful. He does display a little overconfidence and he underestimates his enemy, but when he is fighting that is where some of his power, talent, leadership, and luck kicks in.

Percy Jackson, The Last Olympian

Vince Carrozza

Explore feelings

There was one scene that I thought was very exciting in the book. During Percy’s fight with Kronos’s army a flying pig (The Clazmonian Sow) attacks Percy and he uses Daedalus’s inventions, the statue automatons, to take down the sow. He throws a rope around the pig while it is flying, trys and fails to climb up it, but successfully guides it to the statues that take it out. Percy says, “It’s one thing to climb a rope in gym class. It’s a completely different thing to climb a rope attached to a moving pig’s wing while your flying at a hundred miles an hour” (250).

This scene shows how Percy is brave and how he is smart and uses strategies. When he knows that he can’t take something down himself, he finds a different way to take it down instead. This event might foreshadow him defeating his main threat, Kronos. Kronos is more powerful than Percy and he is going to have to find away to defeat Kronos with strategy and not just power and strength. His ending plan for defeating Kronos is by dipping himself in the river Styx and becoming invincible.

The significance of this scene is that this flying bore is extremely powerful and no other half blood can take it out, but Percy. This scene shows the other half bloods how much they need Percy and the difference that he makes for them. Not only is Percy powerful and a good leader, but he doesn’t rely only on brute strength and his power for everything. He shows the Half bloods that he can pick his battles right and he knows what to do during them. Percy knows his limits. The only thing Percy gets out of this fight is that he realized that he met his match, that he came close to dying, and he has to be more careful next time. This scene was very exciting to read through because a lot of things were going on during it.

Percy Jackson, The Last Olympian

Vince Carrozza

Acrostic poem.

P: Phenomenal. Percy never ceases to amaze people with his incredible luck and talent. During his fight with Hyperion; he creates a hurricane to cool out the monsters fire and harnesses great power. No matter what adventure or task he sets his eyes on; he always prevails. He is the one who sticks out in the crowd and does what no one else can do.

E: Enthusiastic. Percy is always excited for things and takes part in them too. He does more than just take part; he even takes charge of things. An example of this is when he becomes; basically the general of the Half bloods and defends the empire state building from the monsters. Throughout the book he is a great leader because of his enthusiasm and he gives everyone else a reason to take part in things, which later on in the book his enthusiasm and need for Clarisse and the Ares cabin encourages/causes them to come and help.

R: Remarkable. Percy is remarkable because of the things he does. When he saved Mount Olympus from burning down to the ground, the gods offered to give him gifts because of the remarkable things he did. He is also remarkable because he is one of the few sons of Poseidon.

C: Commander: Percy is a commander and a leader. The other half bloods did not just pick him to lead their armies against Kronos. The campers naturally followed Percy. He was a natural leader because of his ideas; because he had a plan; because he enforced it; because the other half bloods naturally followed him. Percy had the qualities and during kronos’s attack he became the leader.

Y: Youthful. Percy Jackson is very young and after seeing him do all these remarkable things you start to get the prospective that a kid his age could never do that. His youth in this book is his enemy because things are threatening, like Kronos and Luke, that are much bigger, stronger, older, and wiser than he is.

J: Just. Percy was just when he turned down being a God. It was the right thing to do, to return the favor from Annabeth. It was the just thing to do when Percy had the chance to kill Ethan, an evil half-blood, but he let him survive.

A: Ambitious. Through out the book Percy was always striving to defeat his enemies. He is a hard worker and is eager throughout the book to complete his tasks. During Kronos’s rising Percy knew that Mount Olympus could be overthrown and with his ambition and many other traits he made sure that didn’t happen.

C: Courage. One thing that got Percy through all his adventures is his courage. Without that he wouldn’t have been able to stand up above all the other campers and become the leader of the Half-bloods. Without courage he would not have been able to fight Kronos and Luke. Without his courage he would not have been able to succeed in his dangerous tasks.

K: Keen. Percy is smart and keen and always has a plan. He goes into fights knowing what he is going to do and executes it perfectly. When he fought the Clazmonian Sow (a flying pig) he tricked it in to flying near some stone statue automatons and they destroyed the Sow.

S: Selfless. Percy is selfless because he was offered to be turned in to a god after he saved Mount Olympus, but he turned that down to ask for a gift that would help all half bloods like himself. He asked that all the Half-bloods would be claimed by their parents (gods). Also he would be turning down his best friend Annabeth if he became a God. Earlier she had been offered to join Artimis and her hunters, but she refused so she could stay with Percy.

O: Open-minded. Percy was open-minded. He thought about all the possible outcomes. When he was defending Mount Olympus from Kronos he made sure every thing was defended. He thought about all the possible places that Kronos could attack from and he made sure everything was covered. He also made his plan open to possible outcomes, so he could be ready for anything

N: Nonhuman. Percy during the book says to Rachael his friend, “Let’s pretend we’re a couple of normal people” (8). Percy is a half-blood he is part god and part human. In this book part of him is nonhuman and the whole book is the way it is because of this. He can see and do things, that normal people can’t. When Kronos stops time for all humans Percy can still move around and stuff because part of him is nonhuman.

My Sister's Keeper (Character Sketch)

When I began to read this book Anna seemed selfish. It appeared she was stopping all treatment because she didn't want to help anymore and didn't even consider her sister's fate. Kate, her sister, asked Anna to stop the treatment because she didn't want to fight anymore and she knew it was time. In this situation Anna reminds me of my sister. I know she loves me and even though it would be tough I belive we would handle it the same way these sisters did. Anna taught me that when everyone is against you all it takes is a little faith and things start to smooth down. Anna was only making this sacrifice because her sister requested. Anna was well aware of Kate's fate but because of their bond and love she was willing to agree. "I was born for a very specific purpose...because I could save my sister, Kate"(8). This quote explains what Anna was going through. When Kate got sick Anna was the one who saved her. After Kate asked Anna to stop helping her with the treatments Anna knew Kate was going to die, because of her.

My Sister's Keeper (Literary Techniques)

"A jewel is just a rock put under enormous heat and pressure. Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look"(152). The author chose to add this quote in the book because it describes every human being. It shows that every person is a jewel under pressure from their peers and everyday life and like diamonds unique people are found in unlikely places. I like this quote because it shows how different each person truly is. It also shows that you can't judge people because they are undergoing heat and pressure and you just need to get to know them. It is significant in this book because Kate is suffering Leukemia and is not perfect but the people around her who love her see past her imperfections and treat her normally. The people who pass and don't know Kate see sadness, but they are quick to judge because underneath she is a strong individual. Finally, this quote teaches me not to judge people and that everybody is unique.

In Sue Monk Kidd's, The Secret Life of Bees, Lilly embarks on a journey to run away with Rosaleen, their maid. The reason Lily does this, is because she wants to run away from her father. Lily's father abused her and acted as if he hated her. And as for Lily's mother, she had never really known her. Right before Lily left her father told her about her mothers death. Lily was very young when her mother died, so she was extremely curious to find out how she'd died. T-Ray, Lily's father said the day she died she was packing her bags. He said she was moving out and not taking Lily with her. Lily couldn't believe this. She was stuck by the fact that her mother left her. Then T-Ray continued by saying. The day your mother left... we were arguing. Then he told her that Lily, who was crawling on the ground, lifted a gun and pulled the trigger. That was the day her mother died. Lily was flabbergasted by the fact that she was the reason her mother was dead. Lily was only a mere child when this happened. She felt awful after finding out the news.

When Lily ran away, she goes to find a cirtan house that makes honey. She decides to head towards Tiburon, the town written on the back of her mothers black Mary picture that was taped to a honey jar. This jar was one of the only memento's Lily had of her mother. Lily and Rosaleen arrived at the pink house of August Boatwright, who is a middle-aged black woman who takes them into her home. Then after months with August, Lily finds out that her mother stayed with August when she left her husband and Lily for the first time. To her surprise, Lily learns things about her mothers past from August. The truth in life is that when you run into obstacles and feel alone and sorry for yourself you can find true compassion within yourself and more through others to find the impossible.

This story of fate relates to Santiago in the Old Man and The Sea. Santiago was a fisherman who went 84 days without a catch. He had no money, no family and feels like he is unlucky. Thanks to the boy, Manolin, Santiago feels like he will be able to catch a fish again. By taking a leap of faith, Santiago catches a huge fish and Lily finds August who acts as a new mother. "There is nothing perfect, there is only life." By going out of your comfort zone, you can find friends and family who can impact the rest of your lives.

My Sister's Keeper (Acrostic)

For once in Anna's life she is about to be able to call the shots. She has given her sister everything she has ever needed out of love. From blood to bone marrow Anna has sacrificed herself for her sister.
After further discussion Anna has to make a tough decision that will not only jeopardize her family as a whole but will hurt everyone individually. She must go behind her family's back to make a choice either to save Kate or eventually let her sister go.
Many do not understand why Anna is thinking about letting her sister die but because they have such a special bond only Anna knows why she has been asked to choose. Kate is a strong girl and has faught Leukemia her whole life with the help of Anna but she knows she is ready to die and can't fight any longer. It is Kate who asks Anna to stop donating blood. The only reason Anna even considers making this choice is because she loves her sister and knows that will make her happy.
"...Is that there is no good answer. So as parents, as doctors, as judges and as society, we fumble though and make decisions that allow us to sleep at night-beacuse morals are more important than ethics, and love is more important than law"(409).
Love is a difficult thing to understand because it can hurt you but also save you. In Anna's situation she had to make a sacrifice out of love for her sister but it killed her mother. Her sisterly bond to Kate was the key to her sister's survival.
Yet in the end it was the ulimate sacrifice made from Anna that saved Kate. Family is the theme of this book because throughout all the treatments the Fitzgeralds overcame all their struggles together. They had their ups and downs and at times each member felt alone and helpless but together they became stronger because they had each other.