From The Odyssey to The Sea of Monsters: Reconstructing Myth Through Propp and Barthes

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of English Language, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Baft, Iran

2 School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia

3 School of Languages, Literacies and Translation, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia.

Abstract

This article examines how Rick Riordan’s The Sea of Monsters reconstructs ancient myth for a contemporary young adult audience through a comparison with Homer’s The Odyssey. Drawing on Vladimir Propp’s narratology and Roland Barthes’s theory of myth, the study investigates the distribution of narrative functions and character roles in Riordan’s novel and their relation to the classical source text. The analysis shows that The Sea of Monsters preserves a recognisable Proppian structure while redistributing helper, donor, dispatcher, and villain roles across characters in ways that suit the logic of young adult fiction. It also demonstrates that Riordan’s retelling does not merely imitate Homeric myth but re-signifies it by translating heroic conflict, divine assistance, and moral values into a modern cultural context. The principal conclusion is that myth in Riordan’s novel remains structurally familiar yet culturally transformed, allowing classical values such as courage, loyalty, perseverance, and belonging to be conveyed in forms accessible to young readers. The study argues that this process of reconstruction shows the continuing adaptability of myth and the intertextual value of young adult retellings as mediators between classical literature and modern readership.

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Critical Literary Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 July 2026

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History

  • Receive Date: 01 July 2025
  • Revise Date: 11 June 2026
  • Accept Date: 15 July 2026

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