Real-life superheroes

This week, there has been a huge emphasis on the complex character- a character who isn’t perfect and has contradictions to his story. When I heard Percy Jackson listed as a counterexample, I have to be honest, my gut reaction was to be defensive. (Against who, Katie? Are you going to argue with your English teacher over a book character because you feel like you’ve permanently regressed into your middle school self over quarantine1?) I’ve since reflected more on why I’m so convinced these YA fiction novels are much more complex than they really are and have come to the conclusion that it’s because of the fans. Fans who have over-analyzed every scene, saw every minor character interaction as a sign of something intensely significant2, and even reimagined scenes into elaborate “fix-its” with deeper dialogue and patched up plot holes. This may come from a desperate desire to cling to childhood favorites and “grow them up” with us.  

However, this is not the last realization I came to. Thinking about how I saw characters like Percy Jackson as “human” and “complex” forced me to analyze who I didn’t see like that. Who did I see as a hero growing up without much introspection? My family slipped into mind. My grandparents- both sets- seemed so superhuman. The way my grandpa can turn any food into an extravagant meal, dedicate plants in his garden to the grandkids, and pick my cousins up from school every day inspires me. When he got hurt, it was a rude awakening that he’s not invincible (fully recovered now). My grandma would send overflowing boxes of crafts and glittery books on every holiday she couldn’t spend with us, I never thought she’d be anything less than rich. I also didn’t suspect that my [imperfect] aunt had a complicated childhood with my [imperfect] grandparents, leaving lingering effects decades later.

Being forced to view my parents in this very human light as I grew up was, at times, disheartening and draining.  In spite of this, it makes me appreciate the good times so much more because people are flawed and vulnerable and very imperfect. These very human relationships are genuine reminders of life.

1The Tower of Nero is out Oct. 6 and you can bet it’s marked on my calendar with a million google alerts.

2Was this our first taste of rhetorical/character analysis? Maybe..