SUMMARY: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Perseus “Percy” Jackson is a twelve-year-old New Yorker who has dyslexia and ADHD. For reasons unknown, he often finds himself in unique situations that get him kicked out of school. During a school trip to a museum, a bully, Nancy Bobofit, bullies Percy’s friend Grover. At the same time Percy defends his friend, the fountain that they were next to grabs Nancy. However, Nancy believed that she was pushed into the fountain, and lies about the incident to Mrs. Dodds, Percy’s pre-algebra teacher. Mrs. Dodds separates Percy from the rest of the class before she transforms into one of the Furies from Greek mythology and attacks him. Mr. Brunner, Percy’s Latin teacher, tosses a pen to Percy, and when uncapped, it transforms into a sword. Percy kills Mrs. Dodds, and when he returns to the class, no one seems to remember the pre-algebra teacher. Only Grover seems suspicious when Percy confronts him.
Percy seeks Mr. Brunner for extra help on Latin for the final the following week. However, he unwittingly hears Grover and Mr. Brunner talking about him, and about a stolen item that was important.
Percy goes home on the last day of school, and his mother Sally takes him to the beach house where Percy’s parents met long ago. Unfortunately, that night, a storm rages, and Grover warns them to flee. They are attacked by the Minotaur while driving to the countryside, and in the ensuing fight, Sally disappears in a gold flash when the monster grabs her. Enraged, Percy kills the Minotaur and passes out soon afterwards.
Three days later, he wakes up in the infirmary of Camp Half-Blood, where Grover and Mr. Brunner – who is Chiron, the camp director – tell him that he is a demigod – half-mortal, half-god – but his godly parent is unknown. For this reason, he is sent to the Hermes cabin, which receives all the unclaimed demigods. During his time there, he befriends Luke, the cabin leader and son of Hermes, becomes an acquaintance of Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, and an enemy of Clarisse, who is a daughter of Ares. Through a series of events during Percy’s stay at camp, Poseidon claims him.
However, just as the trident that claimed him fades away, a hellhound bursts into camp and sends the campers into panic, as these monsters supposedly are unable to enter. To protect the camp, Chiron sends Percy on a quest.
Percy is eventually tasked by the Oracle to retrieve Zeus’ stolen lightning bolt, mistakenly believed to have been taken by Poseidon. Poseidon, however, blames Hades for stealing it, in hopes of starting a war. Annabeth and Grover go west with him in order to retrieve the stolen items. However, upon reaching Hades’s lair, Hades accuses Percy of stealing his helm, threatening to kill him and his mother before releasing the dead into the world. Percy and his friends escape, and they find out that Ares had the stolen items all along. Percy fights the god of war in a duel and surprisingly wins. Percy returns the helm to Hades, and in return, Hades returns Sally safely.
After Percy returns the lightning bolt to Zeus, Luke reveals that he was the thief and is working for Kronos, the Lord of the Titans. He tries to kill Percy by calling on a pit scorpion, but Percy survives. At the end of summer, Percy ultimately chooses to return home for the school year before he comes back for the next summer.
CHARACTER LISTS:
Perseus “Percy” Jackson – The protagonist of the story, twelve-year-old New Yorker Percy Jackson is the demigod son of Poseidon. Due to his half-godly Greek heritage, Percy is dyslexic and has ADHD. He is reported to have black hair and green eyes. While he lacks his friend’s intelligence, Percy has loyalty and bravery, which is constantly shown in the book. Because he is the son of Poseidon, his primary weapon is Riptide (or Anaklusmos), a sword gifted to him by Chiron.
Annabeth Chase – A deuteragonist, Annabeth Chase is the demigod daughter of Athena. Because of her familial conflicts, she ran away at the age of seven before she stayed at Camp Half-Blood, a refuge for demigods. She helps Percy on his quest to retrieve Zeus’ lightning bolt, using her intelligence to guide them to their destination. She is reported to have blonde hair and grey eyes, and is especially skilled with the dagger.
Grover Underwood – A deuteragonist, Grover Underwood is Percy’s best friend who joins him and Annabeth to retrieve Zeus’ lightning bolt. He was previously tasked to protect Percy, and prior to meeting him, Grover was tasked to find Thalia Grace, Annabeth, and Luke Castellen. Grover is a satyr – half-goat, half-human – and he can be occasionally timid. However, he does have a sense of loyalty. He weapon of choice is a reed flute, which can manipulate plants.
Chiron – Chiron trains campers at Camp Half-Blood, and for a time, he went under the alias of Mr. Brunner, Percy’s Latin teacher.
Hades – Hades is the god of the Underworld and presumed to be the one who stole Zeus’ lightning bolt in an effort to start war. He is portrayed as an evil god who is self-serving. It is revealed later that his Helm of Darkness was stolen, and he mistakenly believed that Percy stole it. Percy retrieved it along with the lightning bolt.
Luke Castellen – The true antagonist of the story, Luke Castellan is the demigod son of Hermes. He is portrayed as a jovial person, but he is upset at his father and desires revenge by stealing the lightning bolt and the Helm of Darkness. He proclaims himself to be the ultimate follower of Kronos, the Lord of the Titans.
Mr. D – Dionysus, the God of Wine, who was put in charge of Camp Half-Blood in an attempt to get him to have a positive influence on youth. Typically grumpy and snarky.
Kronos – Trapped in the Pit of Tartarus for the duration of the story, Kronos is this novel’s hidden antagonist, coercing Luke to do his bidding and steal the master bolt. Kronos is a Titan, imprisoned by Zeus, his son, during the war between the gods and Titans.
Poseidon – Percy’s father, the Sea God. Poseidon is one of the Big Three, and he made a vow with Hades and Zeus not to father any more children. As such, he did not claim Percy as his son until later in his life, when Percy came to Camp Half-Blood for the first time.
Sally Jackson – Percy’s mother, who is caring, sweet, and loves Percy with all her heart. She fell in love with Poseidon and had Percy, and then married a terrible man named Gabe to try to keep Percy’s demigod scent hidden from the monsters. The Minotaur seemingly kills her early in the book, but it is revealed that she was actually taken hostage by Hades.
Gabe Ugliano – Percy’s stepfather, a terrible man whom Sally married in order to conceal Percy’s scent from the monsters. He treats both Sally and Percy horribly.
Zeus – God of the Sky and owner of the master bolt, the object whose theft catalyzes Percy’s quest. Zeus is temperamental and proud, and it is best not to cross him.
Athena – Annabeth’s mother, the Goddess of Wisdom and War. Athena and Poseidon are typically rivals, and she takes Zeus’s side in the budding war between Zeus and Poseidon.
Hermes – The messenger god, father of Luke and many other Camp Half-Blood demigods.
Apollo – God of Music and the Sun, father of many Camp Half-Blood campers.
Artemis – Apollo’s twin, Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt. Artemis swore to remain a maiden forever, so she has no children; however, she has an honorary cabin in Camp Half-Blood anyway.
Hera – Goddess of Marriage and Queen of the Gods, Zeus’s wife. She has an honorary cabin in Camp Half-Blood.
Ares – God of War, father of Clarisse and other campers at Camp Half-Blood. In his human form, Ares is a strong biker who wears leather. Ares manipulates Percy into doing his bidding, and he has a role in the master bolt theft, hoping to start a war.
Aphrodite – Goddess of Love and Beauty. Technically she is married to Hephaestus, but she has been cheating on him with Ares for a long time.
Hephaestus – God of Fire and Metalworking, and father of many campers at Camp Half-Blood. He sets a trap in the water park to catch Ares and Aphrodite together, but Percy and his friends get caught in it instead.
Aunty Em – Medusa, the Gorgon with snakes for hair who can turn people into stone. She poses as an innocent owner of a garden gnome emporium and tries to kill Annabeth to get revenge because of her mother, but Percy ends up killing her–just like his namesake, Perseus.
Clarisse – Daughter of Ares, who quickly becomes Percy’s enemy at camp after trying to flush his head in the toilet.
Mrs. Dodds – One of the Furies, who is initially Percy’s math teacher but then attacks him on a school field trip, working for Hades.
Pan – A satyr god of nature who disappeared without a trace. Many satyrs, including Grover, dedicate their lives to searching for him, but so far none have returned.
Charon – The ferryman of the Underworld, who takes the dead across the River Styx. He is initially reluctant to let Percy and his friends cross because they are still alive, but ultimately he succumbs to their bribe.
Cerberus – The three-headed dog who guards the Underworld, and takes a liking to Annabeth.
Crusty – Owner of the water bed palace in Los Angeles, where Annabeth and Grover are almost stretched to death. His real name is Procrustes.
