Johnson

Everyone knows someone who is bigger than them. Bigger, stronger, more intimidating. In the book Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers, that person is a man who goes by Johnson. He is built better then a skyscraper, and to top it off he gets a hulking M60 machine gun. These two combined demand fear from everyone and thing in that gets in their way or on their bad side. Johnson is a killing machine and no one ever wants to mess with him.

Most of the time, Johnson has a stern look on his face. He rarely shows emotion, the only time was when his Lieutenant died. If you would meet him he probably wouldn't look or smell to nice because during war you have to go weeks without a shower. His clothes would be tattered and worn, and he would look like he went to hell and back. His face would look like he saw a ghost, and he would stink to high heavens.

Never Give Up

Everyone faces obstacles in their lives. Some harder then others, like having to meet a deadline or losing a job. When faced with these obstacles the person has two decisions. He or she can either give up, go home and quit. Or they can keep trying, never giving up. Working hard to find answer to solve their problem. In the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy had to face a major problem that, depending on his decision, would change not only his but hundreds of thousands of peoples lives.

When Percy received his quest, he had no choice but to take it and to complete it. If he would complete the quest, he would restore peace to Olympus and the world. If he turned it down, or failed on the way, the consequences would be horrible. There would be World War III, an army of undead soldiers would rise from the underworld and wreak havoc on innocent people, and the war would kill millions of people all over the world. This is obviously a dire situation that sadly Percy has to deal with only two friends to help him.

Another conflict Percy had to overcome was losing his mother. It is really hard to not be upset over losing a loved one, especially your parent. Percy was extremely upset about this for a long time until Hades showed that he had his mother, frozen at the moment she was about to die. This helped Percy move on and save his mother.

By Percy choosing to keep fighting after each monster he fought and each challenge he faced, Percy prevented what could have been the end of the world. It just goes to show that hard work pays off. This reminds me of the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going". That means they dig in, hang in there, and fight until the end. That is one of the greatest traits a person can have, and luckily Percy did. Thanks to him, the whole world was saved from a horrible fate.

Luke

Lost, looking for somewhere to call home
Ugly scar upon his face
Kronos, controlled by
Eternal hate for the gods

Imposter, acting as a friend
Strong sword fighter

Enraged by his failed quest
Valiant before becoming corrupted
Insane from Kronos
Lyeing in wait for the time to strike

Backbiter, Backstabber

Author's Note: This is a character analysis of Luke from The Lightning Thief

No one likes to have someone betray them. Almost everyone has though, by people who pretended to be close friends until it was the perfect time to stab them in the back. When this happens, the person feels horrible that one of their friends could have done something so evil, and that his how Percy felt when he realized Luke's true intentions. From the very beginning when Luke found out that Percy was a son of Poseidon, he planned on how to kill him.

Luke wasn't always so corrupted and evil; he used to be a really good person until he got a quest from his father. Luke's father is Hermes, the god of travelers and thieves. So it would be pretty obvious that Luke's quest had to do with stealing something. It did; Luke had to go to the Garden of Hesperides to steal a golden apple and return it to Olympus. But sadly he failed. After his failed quest, he started to have dreams of Kronons, one of the titans. Kronos convinced Luke and corrupted his mind into believing that the gods should be overthrown and that they were just using him. Luke slowly started to believe him.

Kronos had convinced Luke to give Percy winged shoes like Hermes uses, except these shoes were cursed. When close enough, they would sprout their wings and drag Percy into the entrance to Tarturus which would lead him to Kronos who would then kill him. This attempt failed when Grover was wearing the shoes instead of Percy when the curse activated. Luke made two more attempts to kill Percy after that. It just shows how easy it is for someone to fall from good aspirations and a role model, to a traitor and pretty much insane. All they need is a little push.

Always Has A Plan

Annabeth is one of the main characters in the book The Lightning Thief, and a good friend of Percy and Grover. She is strong, smart, and apparently always has a plan. In the beginning of the book she is sort of mean and rude to Percy, but slowly warms up to him. Annabeth acts tough but has a soft spot for a few people. In the story, she helps Percy a lot with fighting, problem solving, and figuring out what to do. She is the daughter of Athena, a Greek god.

The Old, the Wise, and the Well Fed

Have you ever wanted something expensive that you couldn't afford so bad that you would steal for it? That is what Roger, a boy in the short story Yes Ma'am, attempted to do. He tried to steal a woman's purse with the intention of getting money to buy a pair of shoes, but instead got a lesson that most likely saved his life from a large old woman with a very large purse.

Roger was a boy around the age of 15, who desperately wanted a pair of blue suede shoes. He was so desperate that he tried to steal this lady's purse, but his attempt failed. She ended up catching him, and now the lady, Mrs. Jones, had a choice. She could either have turned him in, or taught him a lesson herself. This decision changed his life forever. If she would have called the police, the boy would have been taken to jail. Then when he got out, he would never be able to get a job because now he has a criminal record. Then he will end up stealing again, get put in jail again, and repeat. This would keep happening until eventually he would be killed before he could get to the age of 30. By taking him to her house, she taught him a lesson so that he will never steal again, which ultimately saved his life.

This world needs more people like the wise and quite intimidating, Mrs. Jones. Saving peoples lives instead of condemning them, teaching a kid a lesson instead of letting him run off to go steal again, Mrs. Jones is a great role model and should never be messed with.

Washed Away

Authors Note: In this piece I tried to score high on voice. It is about a boy and his friend who live next to each other

It was a normal summers day, people would hide inside or swim in the river to beat the heat. Me and my friend Matt liked to swim in the river because of how cold it always was. Matt would constantly complain about him being so hot and he always wanted to go swimming. We would always go swimming because the only body of water within 20 miles was a big river that ran behind our houses. I liked to just stay in my room but I would go swimming with him to hang out. Where we lived, there was usually no clouds in the sky, let alone rain. That's why everyone was so happy when the weatherman predicted that the next week would be filled with heavy rain.

It started off as a drizzle, but quickly turned into an all out pouring. I was doing fine with the weather, but Matt was going insane. Every time he would ask his parents if he could go to the river and swim, they would tell him that the rain was making the river too deep and dangerous. The downpour continued for days. The weatherman warned that the days of rain had swelled the river, floods threatened to break loose. Matt called me just as the weatherman finished his warning, asking if I could go swimming. "Don't your parents not want you to go in the river? It's getting even worse." I said back. He told me that his parent weren't home, and he's going with or without me. I asked my parents and they immediately said no, so I told Matt and he was really disappointed. That was the last I heard from him.

The next day Matt's parents called and asked if we had seen him, saying that he had disappeared. I immediately thought about the river but didn't want to say anything, because he could have just stayed at a friend's house without telling his parents. He did that all the time, but I just had a horrible feeling that I knew what had happened to him.

It took three days before they found the body. Apparently he had been hit by a falling branch from a tree that couldn't handle the high winds anymore. He was knocked unconscious and just floated on down the river, unable to be saved. The funeral was short, everyone grieved, but I was too busy imagining what would have happened if I had gone down with him. Would have I died with him? Or would I have been able to save him. All I know is that he will finally be cold now, not having to complain about the heat.