“Suspense combines curiosity with fear and pulls them up a rising slope.” - Mason Cooley. These emotions that suspense creates are intended to keep viewers interested and entertained while watching, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”, directed by, Chris Columbus. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” was filled with suspense. The three major elements the director used to generate suspense were conflict, sympathetic attachment to the protagonist and foreshadowing. To begin, conflict was one of the elements used to create suspense. An example of how suspense was created through conflict was when Percy was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a field trip. Mrs. Dodds told Percy that they needed to talk and …show more content…
brought him to a secluded room in the museum. Mrs. Dodds then proceeded to transform into a Fury, Alecto, and kept asking Percy, “Where is it, where is the lightning bolt?” and continued to threaten him if he did not give her the lightning bolt. This was suspenseful in many ways. Firstly, it causes suspense because it makes the viewers curious as to why Mrs. Dodds needs to talk to Percy. This scene also causes suspense because the audience does not know what Percy will do to stop the Alecto because he does not have possession of the lightning bolt. Another way conflict built suspense was when Percy and Luke met at The Empire State Building. Luke met Percy, Percy’s mother, and Annabeth at The Empire State Building, and demands for the lightning bolt back. Percy does not give it back and wishes to return it to Zeus, Luke says, “Not before midnight.” and proceeds to fight Percy for the lightning bolt. The fight was suspenseful since it had the viewers wondering if either Percy or Luke would win the bolt and if Percy could return it to Zeus before time ran out. Additionally, the use of conflict caused suspense when Percy and his friends were in the Nashville Museum. Percy needed to get the second pearl, which was on the crown of a massive statue in the middle of a crowded museum. There was no way to acquire the pearl during the day, so they had to hide out in the washroom until it was night. This added additional suspense to the film because this had the viewers wondering how they would retrieve the pearl. They decided to go with the flying shoes that Luke gave them, which added to the suspense of how well they were going to operate the shoes because Luke said they needed to practice with the shoes first. After they got the pearl, a Hydra formed from the security guards and was not going to let Percy escape with the pearl. They ended up fighting, which caused the audience to wonder if Percy could get the pearl and make it out alive. In conclusion, conflict was used repeatedly to create suspense throughout the film. Secondly, sympathetic attachment to the protagonist created suspense throughout the film.
For instance, suspense was created by sympathetic attachment to the protagonist, when Percy, his mother, and Grover were in an abandoned forest at night, where Camp Half-Blood was located. Percy’s mother was not a half-blood so she physically could not pass the entrance to enter the camp, which caused her to get taken by The Minotaur. This built suspense because the viewers have no knowledge about Percy’s mother’s final fate. The viewers additionally do not know how Percy could get his mother back. Another example where the film used sympathetic attachment to the protagonist to build suspense was when Percy and his friends are at Medusa’s garden. Medusa could murder anyone when they look into her bare eyes. Percy and his friends needed to escape her garden, but leaving was hard when they cannot open their eyes in fear of dying. This caused suspense because the viewers were curious if they could make it out alive. Also, suspense was created by sympathetic attachment to the protagonist when Percy, his mother, and friends were trapped in Hell. The only way to escape Hell was with each person having their own pearl, there were only three pearls and four people trying to get out of hell. This meant one person had to stay in hell. This created suspense because it had the viewers anticipating and worried about who may have to stay, and what would happen to them in hell. The viewers do not know how long they would stay there if they did ever get the chance to come back. To conclude, sympathetic attachment to the protagonist was a major element in creating
suspense. Lastly, suspense was created throughout the film by foreshadowing. One example of the use of foreshadowing to create suspense was the opening scene where Zeus and Poseidon were at the top of The Empire State Building. Zeus said, “He must return the bolt to me in 14 days, by midnight, in the summer solstice, or there will be war.” Zeus assumes that Poseidon’s son, Percy, was the one who stole the lightning bolt, and demands for it back in 14 days, by midnight, and if Percy fails to do so, Zeus will start a war against Poseidon. This creates suspense because the audience wonders if Percy did take the lightning bolt, and if he did, would he bring it back or will war start. This was a suspenseful scene because it was the opening scene, so the viewers know what the movie was going to revolve around. Another way foreshadowing was used to create suspense was when Percy was at the pool. Percy was relaxing at the bottom of the pool for about seven minutes, with no trouble. This was suspenseful because the viewers know that no normal human can do that, and since Percy can do it without thinking twice about it, there must be a deeper meaning. Another scene that built suspense with foreshadowing was when Percy and Grover first walked to Camp Half-Blood. While they were walking up to the camp, Poseidon communicated with Percy in his mind, and told him, “Everything is about to change Percy, everything.” This created suspense because after hearing this, the viewers were left wondering what Poseidon meant by that, what was going to change, and why. Therefore, Chris Columbus used foreshadowing to form suspense in the film. Thus, the movie, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”, created suspense. Firstly, the film used conflict to create suspense. Next, sympathetic attachment to the protagonist was used to build suspense. Finally, the director used the literary device, foreshadowing, to form suspense. Undoubtedly, “The thrill of suspense is a competing mixture of hope and fear.”-Kevin Harris.
Suspense, something vital filmmakers, and authors need in their stories, but how does someone include suspense in their stories that gets the audience on the edge of their seats and begging for more? In the essay, “Let Em’ Play God” by Alfred Hitchcock, he states that letting the audience know everything while the characters don’t create suspense.
First, a key method used to create suspense is the usage of the setting. When a character is in an unwelcoming or uninviting location, uneasy or tense feelings can be formed. When there is a sense of not knowing what is around the corner or lurking in the shadows, suspense is created. Also, ominous weather, such as threatening thunderstorms, can lead the reader to anticipate an unfortunate event occurring. An example of an uncomfortable setting is the secret passageway, which is dark, dirty, and most often only occupied by a single individual. Under these conditions many people become anxious, and because of these uneasy feelings that one may encounter, when a character is subjected to these conditions, the reader may become apprehensive, which leads to the formation of suspense. When Dan Needham shuts John Wheelwright in the secret passageway while both are in a drunken stupor, a high level of suspense is created. The description of the secret passageway adds to the suspense of the scene, "The passageway was dark; yet I could discern the scurrying of spiders.
Everyone at one point has been captivated and intrigued by the plot of a movie or a book. This captivation is generated by the one tool that authors and directors love the most, suspense. Authors want their audience and readers of their writing to be enthralled by creating tension and thrill in their plot. The usage of style, characterization, point of view, and foreshadowing allows authors and directors to create suspense in their work. Suspense is a very difficult approach to master but with the correct tools it can be as simple as a walk through the park.
Mystery is just a precursor to suspense. Suspense is used in several places throughout the story. One, when Rainsford is standing at the door seeing a giant standing there silent, this makes the reader wonder what will happen next. Two, when Zaroff is talking to Rainsford about the most dangerous game. This fools the reader and Rainsford about Zaroffs intentions towards Rainsford, and it makes the reader want to keep reading. Last, Rainsfords dilemmas keep the reader in suspense. The reader wonders how he will get himself out of his predicaments.
Percy Jackson is a very interesting character but he’s more interesting when they keep some his great characteristics in the movie. There are many differences along with similarities in the comparison between the book and the movie of Percy Jackson The Lightning Thief. One of the major differences between the two was how in the book Luke and Percy never fought for the bolt because Luke took it, but in the movie Luke and Percy have an epic battle for the bolt. A good similarity with the two is that they do a very good job in describing Percy’s background and how they were in the Lotus hotel and got stuck their for hours but realistically was 5 days. I will be discussing and some of the main similarities and differences
In Dahl’s short story and in Jacob’s short story, both depict suspense through tone and description. For example, in the “The Landlady”, the narrator stated, “I stuff all my little pets.” This example reveals suspense by providing the landlady killed and stuffed her pets. Furthermore,
As Mccarthy once said “The suspense of a novel is not only in the reader but in the novelist, who is intensely curious about what will happen to the hero. (Mary McCarthy)” In this quote, McCarthy means the main characters in the story are suspenseful to draw the reader to be anxious. Above all, the author incorporates the use of literary terms in his or her’s story to create the feeling of suspense. To be specific, in the story “The Hitchhiker” by Lucille Fletcher, the author includes the elements foreshadowing and supernatural to leave the reader anticipated and anxious what is going on in the story. Also, in “The Monkey's Paw” by W.W Jacobs, the author develops suspense by adding literary devices such as situational irony and cliffhanger
My original thought when comparing Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief the movie and Classical mythology was that there would be many more references to the myth of Perceus than any other myth throughout the movie in its entirety. That’s where I was wrong. After watching the movie again and researching the different hero myths my opinion has changed. My new thoughts are that the movie is not influenced by the myth of Perceus any more than other hero myths. The movie ties together many different heroes’ stories and mixes them together to make a wonderful story about a young boy. The movie was based on a book series written by Rick Riordan.
Percy Jackson is a true hero. Imagine if you had the chance to save your mother, but put your own life at risk. When Percy was given this chance, he never even thought about his own life. When he saved the world, he didn't care if he put his own life in immense trouble. When he met his half brother, he stood up for him, not caring if no one liked him after. It is clear that there is no way that Percy Jackson can be thought of anything but a hero, which is what he truly
The narrator is mocking these other characters, which builds suspense as we know that in the end it will be he that will be hurt. Another way in which the writer builds up tension and suspense is by writing the story in first person. This makes us feel emotionally drawn to the character. We feel what the narrator feels, and we only know what the narrator knows. Using first person also allows us to trust the narrator or to empathise with the character.
The first novel of the series, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief , is where Percy’s Hero’s Journey begins, encompassing the first five stages. The Ordinary World, the first stage, is the introduction of the main hero. “The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma” (Campbell). Percy Jackson, a twelve year old diagnosed with both dyslexia and ADHD living in New York with his loving, over-worked mother and abusive stepfather, begins his story attending a boarding school for “troubled youth” and having a less than spectacular time being the new kid. Despite his good intentions of protecting his only friend Grover from a bully, Percy gets in trouble at school and is pulled aside by one of his teachers, whom is revealed to be the Fury Alecto, one of Hades’s servants in disguise. It is at this point in the story in which the second stage, The Call to Adventure, comes into play. Percy defeats the Fury with the help of a centaur named Chiron, t...
Suspense is built up through detailed descriptions of character’s psychological activities in the book, which gradually raises both reader’s confusion and curiosity. For example, the identity of the woman in black had been a great puzzle to the protagonist, Arthur. It was at Mrs. Drablow’s funeral that Arthur first met this strange uninvited guest, and wondered “what connection she would have had with her, what
Do you like reading a novel? Or do you like watching a movie? As we know, some movies are adapted from novels. ‘Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief’ is one of the movies based on the novel that is written by Jack Riordan. Some people may prefer to watch the movie instead read the novel.
The myth of Cronus, a myth about a higher power getting struck down, and in “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief” are alike in theme and plot elements. One theme that reaches to both The Lightning Thief and Cronus is the struggle for power like the struggle for power between Cronus and the gods in both stories. And two elements are love and deception both being feeding material. By the end of this, I am hoping you know that The Lightning Thief and Cronus are same in plot elements, themes, and lessons.