Percy Jackson essay series
(This series of essays will focus on the characters of the Percy Jackson and Lost Hero series. As every avid fan, I have certain opinions and ideas about the characters that I would like to share. The series will focus on both the characters and the relationships. Enjoy.)

                                                               Chris Rodriguez

          When you start off with a series of essays based off of a character, one automatically assumes that you will start with the most popular character of them all, the main protagonist, in this case-Percy Jackson. You would also expect if not the protagonist, then the antagonist- one of the gods or even the demigods who played a great role. However, I'm going to change it up a bit. No, I won't start with the analysis (god only knows how long that will take...) of the gods of Roman and Greek origins, but rather a character who plays a role-albeit to some seemingly insignificant role: Chris Rodriguez.

        To those that are unfamiliar with the series, (Percy Jackson series in particular), will probably not recognize the name. For while a character in the books, he is not the series main protagonists and as a result is somewhat ignored. As an avid fan of the books, I have made that mistake myself. And as a writer, I am thoroughly ashamed. Now you may ask why that is. If the character doesn't play such a significant role, how come I am ashamed for almost ignoring him?

        As any writer will attest, all of their characters have a purpose in the works of an author. Some are created only to add more people to the crowd that is needed. This is considered an okay instance to disregard a character, because the only things that they really bring to the table are their presence. There is usually no substance to such a creation. However, there are other minor characters who may not have a great purpose, such as carrying the book, but they do hold importance to some of those that do help carry the story. In this case, Chris holds meaning to another-Clarisse La Rue.

       Clarisse is one of the daughters of Ares. Ares in his Greek form is the embodiment of violence, useless and otherwise. However there is a difference, unlike Phobos and Deimos- Ares's children with Aphrodite, she is part human. While she still carries Ares's love for violence in her blood, she also maintains a seemingly small shred of kindness. (more on that in her essay). The point of bringing this was to point out that one of her moments of kindness was when she found Chris in the Labyrinth. While this may not have been the first time she was kind to him, it was the first time mentioned.

        Percy acknowledged this-"And Clarisse's tenderness-- it had never occurred to me that she might like someone; but the way she said Chris's name.... She'd known him before he changed sides. She'd known him a lot better than I realized." Clarisse, as the  daughter of a madman, was not likely to shower love or affection easily. It took a special kind of person to worm their way into her heart.

       About the character himself there is not to much known. There are many suppositions based on how he acts when he is present, and why he does so a lot of what is said is a hypothesis. The only person who truly confirm any supposition is Rick Riordan himself. (However the way I talk should tell you rather quickly that I am quite the fan of his work.)

       Chris is the son of Hermes, the god of messengers, thieves and anyone in between. Many of Hermes's children inherit quite a few traits from their old man. They are quick on their feet, stealthy, and can sabotage a machine without it going noticed. They are also good friends, listeners, and if necessary-will steal the shirt off of someone's back to give it to you ;) . As any skill set in the world, it can also be used for nefarious purposes.

       Kronos was one of the big baddies that existed since ancient times. He wasn't so easy to put down. As a matter of fact it took quite a bit of trickery on part of the Olympians and certain Titans (ehem.. Rhea) to take the Titan King down. How ironic that Karma came back to bite him, I guess what they say is true- No one can beat the Fates, even the gods.
 
      Any-who... After the Olympians took over, they decided that since they were sentient beings, rules did not apply to them and they proceeded to sleep with whomever caught their fancy. It didn't matter if it was man or woman, once they had their eye on someone there was no stopping them. They would even turn into animals or inanimate objects to obtain what they wanted-lovers of all forms and eventual kindred. However, there was a quick policy made regarding these children: There would be no direct contact with them in regards to helping them in life. They would have to get by on their own with the occasional assistance. There were very few ways that the gods would talk to their children directly. Eventually that turned into completely disassociating themselves with the children, until they would have no idea who their godly parent was.

        Chris was one of the many demigods who were angry at the gods. They were ignored, abused and forgotten. This was a hard pill for many of them to swallow. Who could blame them? When Luke separated after being duped by Kronos, Chris was only happy to join. This changing of the sides only occurred for a while. After he was found by Clarisse and cured by Dionysus, he decided that even if the gods talk a bunch of hooey sometimes, it wasn't worth the anger that would kill the others and many innocent civilians. After all, Kronos was known to be in some ways a bit of a cannibal and people crusher (literally speaking).

        When he returned, he became the calm one of the bunch, and quite rational to boot. He always looked out for his friends and could even sometimes reign in his girl for the sake of moral or peace. He would rather peace than a war. It's ironic in a sweet way that he ended up with Clarisse. But then again, they weren't the only opposites to attract each-others company.

       When you look at the title of the essay, you may think that I have not covered much about Chris Rodriguez. After all, there wasn't much to cover. I guess there were two points that I wanted to bring in with writing this. A)  I wanted to be different. I wanted to change it up with such essays. I didn't want to start with the main characters-either good, nor bad, or even the misguided. I wanted to showcase someone who meant something to a great and tough characters. That brings me to my second point. B) I wanted to show those who aren't as big fans as many are, that even a small character can contribute to the story. Never forget the little guys.....