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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.
“See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway. And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that...Well, you get the idea.”
This passage shows how Percy’s demigod nature has affected him for much of his life. The cannon incident occurred because his battle instincts kicked in, and the aquarium relates to him being Poseidon’s son. These lines also foreshadow how Percy’s quest will affect the human world. His quest is like the ultimate field trip (with bigger consequences), and bad things happen on the quest, only on a larger scale than the mishaps from his past. The individual events are mirrored in later chapters. Percy both blows up a bus and takes an unplanned swim as a result of fighting monsters.
“I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her sad. She has no pictures.”
While at the beach with his mother, Percy asks her about his father and, as always, gets little information. Percy’s mother has her secrets, and her unwillingness to discuss Poseidon shows how parents keep secrets from their children, especially when they believe keeping those secrets protects them. The lack of pictures of Poseidon implies two things. First, it’s possible gods cannot be captured on camera. Second, Percy’s mother kept no likeness of Poseidon because she wanted to live her life independently, and a god could offer her too much that would keep her life from being her own.
By Rick Riordan
Daughter of the Deep
Daughter of the Deep
Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Battle of the Labyrinth
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The Blood of Olympus
The Blood of Olympus
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The Burning Maze
The Burning Maze
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The Chalice of the Gods
The Chalice of the Gods
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The Dark Prophecy
The Dark Prophecy
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The Hammer of Thor
The Hammer of Thor
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The Hidden Oracle
The Hidden Oracle
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The House of Hades
The House of Hades
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The Last Olympian
The Last Olympian
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The Lost Hero
The Lost Hero
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The Mark Of Athena
The Mark Of Athena
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The Maze of Bones
The Maze of Bones
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The Red Pyramid
The Red Pyramid
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The Sea of Monsters
The Sea of Monsters
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The Son of Neptune
The Son of Neptune
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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
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The Throne of Fire
The Throne of Fire
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The Titan's Curse
The Titan's Curse
Rick Riordan