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Rick RiordanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Riordan draws heavily upon the trope of the hero’s journey, and it becomes a central theme of the novel. The hero’s journey is a common trope in literature and often appears in Greek mythology. In narratology, Joseph Campbell examines the hero’s journey as a prototypical path the hero undertakes throughout a story. Although Campbell describes 17 individual stages, the hero generally goes on an adventure, wins a victory in a decisive crisis, and returns transformed.
Much of Percy’s character trajectory mimics this journey. At the beginning of the book is the call to adventure, when the Oracle reveals the Great Prophecy that Percy and everyone else assume applies to him. It ends with the promise: “A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve” (55). Next there is the refusal of the call, in which Percy debates whether or not he wants to take on the duties of the Prophecy. Following that is the meeting with the mentor, and for Percy this is Chiron. His mentor gives him advice and guidance that will help him on his way.
Percy enters the next stage when he embarks on his adventure and is on the road of trials.
By Rick Riordan
Daughter of the Deep
Daughter of the Deep
Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Rick Riordan
The Blood of Olympus
The Blood of Olympus
Rick Riordan
The Burning Maze
The Burning Maze
Rick Riordan
The Chalice of the Gods
The Chalice of the Gods
Rick Riordan
The Dark Prophecy
The Dark Prophecy
Rick Riordan
The Hammer of Thor
The Hammer of Thor
Rick Riordan
The Hidden Oracle
The Hidden Oracle
Rick Riordan
The House of Hades
The House of Hades
Rick Riordan
The Lightning Thief
The Lightning Thief
Rick Riordan
The Lost Hero
The Lost Hero
Rick Riordan
The Mark Of Athena
The Mark Of Athena
Rick Riordan
The Maze of Bones
The Maze of Bones
Rick Riordan
The Red Pyramid
The Red Pyramid
Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters
The Sea of Monsters
Rick Riordan
The Son of Neptune
The Son of Neptune
Rick Riordan
The Sun and the Star
The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure
Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro
The Sword of Summer
The Sword of Summer
Rick Riordan
The Throne of Fire
The Throne of Fire
Rick Riordan
The Titan's Curse
The Titan's Curse
Rick Riordan