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The kids at Camp Half-Blood face family challenges beyond those of the average human child. With one godly parent and one mortal parent, demigods are perpetually part of a broken family. Such an arrangement stokes feelings of abandonment, inadequacy, and desire to prove themselves. These emotions manifest in different ways depending on each campers’ human family structure and the identity of their godly parent.
Most prominently, Annabeth struggles with feeling like she does not belong. As a year-rounder at Camp Half-Blood, she chooses to have no association with her human father and step-family. They made her feel unwanted because she brought monsters and other complications upon them, leaving Annabeth wishing for a true parent. She sought a deeper relationship with Athena, which also left her unsatisfied. As a result, Annabeth constantly seeks ways to prove herself. The prophesy Chiron received about Annabeth says someone special will arrive at camp and give her a chance to accomplish great things. Annabeth grasps onto every newcomer with the belief that each new person is the one, meaning she’ll finally be able to shed her feelings of inadequacy and be noticed by her parents, both human and god.
By contrast, Percy has a loving relationship with his human mother. Up until Camp Half-Blood, he believes his father died when he was young. Where Annabeth holds resentment toward the family that abandoned her, Percy understands death happens, and while he wishes things were different, he accepts his father is gone. When Percy learns he’s a demigod and that his father isn’t dead, he initially resents Poseidon for staying away. Percy’s feelings compound when he learns he never should have been born, and he wonders if Poseidon stayed away because he didn’t want a child. Percy’s anger and feelings of abandonment affect him throughout the book, causing him to initially discount the gods. In a moment of faith, Percy chooses to believe, and the fact that Poseidon helps allows Percy to start coping with his anger. At the end of the book, both Percy and Annabeth give their families a second chance. Percy finally meets Poseidon and realizes the sea god cares for both Percy and his mother. Annabeth, after seeing Percy overcome his family issues, goes home for the school year.
Luke holds resentment toward Hermes. We don’t learn about Luke’s mother, but backstory tells us he was on the streets and fighting to survive when he met Annabeth. From this information, it seems Luke’s human family either disapproves of his demigod nature or was killed by monsters. Either way, Luke’s last hope for acceptance is Hermes, hope he loses after his quest underwhelms him. Luke wants to do more and be a great hero, but he feels Hermes has no faith in his abilities. As a result, Luke turns to Kronos. Kronos’s power and reliance on Luke make Luke feel wanted and as though he is greater than other demigods because such a powerful being chose him. These feelings are fueled by Luke’s fear of inadequacy, and he doesn’t realize Kronos will likely dispose of him when he’s no longer needed.
Percy faces bullies throughout The Lightning Thief. From before the story’s beginning, we learn Percy’s been shuffled between schools and learned to defend himself against other kids. Percy understands how to deal with mean kids. In Chapter 1, he defends Grover against a girl in their class. Later, he puts Clarisse in her place, showing how his experience with human kids allows him to deal with demigod bullies. When it comes to bullying adults, Percy struggles. Gabe, Percy’s step-father, bullies both Percy and his mom. Percy does nothing to defend them, partly because his mother doesn’t want him to, but mostly because Percy knows Gabe is bigger and tougher.
When Percy comes up against monsters on his quest, he feels responsible for putting Annabeth and Grover in danger because the monsters are after him—the forbidden child-thief of Poseidon. Needing to defend his friends, Percy stands up to Medusa, Echidna, and Procrustes, gaining a bit of confidence with each success. His experience with kid and monster bullies helps Percy against Ares, the ultimate bully. At the end of the book, Percy’s trials have made him stronger and able to find the courage to confront an adult who’s bigger and stronger. Percy takes on Ares, knowing victory will be difficult if not impossible, but he has to protect his friends, Camp Half-Blood, and the entire world from the destruction a war on Olympus could bring. Percy’s battle with Ares ends unresolved. Percy will need to face Ares, and even bigger bullies, in later books of the series.
Bullies don’t have to be violent. When Percy journeys to Mount Olympus in Chapter 21, he confronts Zeus in conversation. Zeus has threatened war but not actually committed violence. Zeus’s rank is a threat in and of itself, and he acts like a bully by raging at the other gods. Percy defends Hades, Poseidon, and himself with words rather than fists. Facts prove to be viable weapons. The truth—that Ares, not Hades, was involved in stealing the bolt—keeps Zeus from declaring war upon his brother and, in turn, prevents Hades from retaliating with his army of the dead. However, Percy is less successful with his information about Kronos. Zeus refuses to hear about his father and bullies Percy into keeping silent about the matter. Percy has stood up to humans, demigods, and even a god, but the king of the gods remains beyond him. Percy still has room to grow and improve in using words as weapons, leaving this part of his character open for development in future books.
Throughout The Lightning Thief, Percy and the other demigods have expectations placed upon them. These expectations come from various sources, including the gods, the oracle, and themselves. The main plot of the story involves Percy’s quest to return the lightning bolt and stop war. This quest places expectations on Percy to be powerful, to save the world, and to accept his demigod nature. He does each of these at varying speeds. Initially, Percy doesn’t believe in the gods and doesn’t want to be caught up in their politics. He resents how his life has changed and that he is blamed for a crime he didn’t commit and didn’t even know about until after it was done. He wants to refuse the expectations but chooses not to because the consequences are too great. He personally wants nothing to do with the gods, but he can’t stand by and watch war overtake the world because he wants to be selfish.
As Percy accepts the expectation to stop war, he gradually comes to understand his demigod nature. He is a son of one of the “Big Three,” and as such, demigods and monsters expect greatness from him. Percy doesn’t want to be great. He wants to save his mother and go back to his old life. As the threats increase and Kronos’s involvement is revealed, Percy realizes he must accept the expectations of greatness. When Zeus and Poseidon refuse to believe Kronos could return, Percy takes up the mantle to be a demigod and protect the world. He knows there is a threat, and he must stop it, regardless of who expects him to.
Percy also challenges the expectations of others. Some of the demigods at Camp Half-Blood—particularly the children of Ares—believe Percy to be the thief and a weakling. They see him as an excuse to battle, and Percy becomes the idol of war. Percy refuses to be the cause of strife. He accepts the quest and its responsibility to change the expectations put upon him by others. Zeus and Hades also place expectations on Percy because he’s a forbidden child. The two gods view Percy as a mark of Poseidon’s weakness and nothing more. Percy refuses to accept their judgments. He does not accept blame for theft of the lightning bolt or Hades’s helm. He investigates and follows clues to where the gods won’t look to exonerate himself and learn the truth. These two sides of Percy’s quest show how one event can place multiple expectations upon us, as well as how we don’t have to accept or reject all expectations. Each may be evaluated separately for a decision.
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By Rick Riordan