In the book Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Percy has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). In this essay I will be talking about causes and effects of Percy’s choices from page 1-45. And how ADHD can benefit him in different situations.

 

Percy responds well to change and can think quickly. In chapter 1 Percy is on a field trip with his school Yancy academy. On page 12-15, Percy is taken into the museum by his math teacher Mrs. Dodds after drenching his classmate, Nancy Bobofit, with water. Things start to get strange when Mrs. Dodds starts to transform into something that isn’t human, “She wasn’t human, she was a shriveled hag with bat wings and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.” Mrs. Dodds turned into a monster trying to harm Percy. Suddenly Mr. Brunner appears and tosses a pen to Percy. The pen turned into a long bronze sword while Mrs. Dodds lunged at Percy, Percy swung the sword which causes Mrs. Dodds to evaporate into yellow powder. When Percy exits the building, he finds everyone the same as before, but strangely no one seems to remember Mrs. Dodds. The actions in this chapter affected Percy the most because it leaves him wondering and lost when he’s the only one who seems to remember Mrs. Dodds. Percy reacted quickly in this situation by still defending himself in time despite all the confusing events that happened before.

 

The events that happened in this chapter was signs of Percy’s ADHD taking effect. In the article Neurodiversity: a different view on ADHD, Cricket media states that there are many different types of ADHD and is sometimes beneficial, “They like to be outdoors and move their bodies. They respond well to change” The sentence “they respond well to change” is what happened to Percy in chapter 1. ADHD benefited him by giving him better reflexes which was what helped him defend himself against Mrs. Dodds. “A brain thinking in many directions is able to observe many different things and come up with surprising solutions.” He reacted quickly and used the best solution in that situation.

 

In conclusion, Percy’s ADHD is not always a bad thing it helps him resolve problems by giving him the ability to react quickly in challenging situations, which will be helpful if he’s a half-blood since half-bloods attract monsters and will have dangerous situations similar to the one with Mrs. Dodds.

In the book Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Percy is brave. When Percy, Grover and his mom were approaching half-blood hill, they encountered the Minotaur. The minotaur was a dangerous beast from the underworld sent to kill them. At the top of the hill, the minotaur attacked them but instead of running away to safety, Percy refuses to leave his mom and Grover. In chapter 4, “I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. We’re going together. Come on, mom.” In this piece of evidence, Percy says he is not going to leave his mom even though he knows he might get killed.

 

Later in the story Percy’s mom gets taken by the minotaur, but instead of running away Percy decides to fight the minotaur regardless of the little experience he had. “Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs” He found the courage to fight and kill the minotaur even when he just lost his mother. “The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend as if he was about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too, I couldn’t allow that.”

He is brave by telling the readers he will not allow another person who he cares about to die like his mom. Percy Jackson then proceeds to attract the Minotaur’s attention to him instead Grover, putting his own life in danger.