The Lightning Thief Chapter 1

Percy admits that he didn't want to be a half-blood. He warns the reader that if they recognize themselves in the story to follow, they should terminate reading immediately—danger is right around the corner. Percy introduces himself: he'due south 12 years old and a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a schoolhouse for troubled kids. Though Percy has always been "troubled," things get really bad on the trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff. Percy has loftier hopes, since Mr. Brunner, the cool Latin instructor, is leading the trip. Percy seems to always go far trouble on field trips, but he vows to be adept. He ignores Nancy Bobofit'southward bullying—she throws sandwich bits at Grover, Percy's all-time friend.

Though Percy calls himself "troubled," he nevertheless wants to fit in. While fitting in could mean a number of different things for different people, for Percy, it ways wanting to practise well in schoolhouse— and, he shares later, wanting to have friends. This suggests that at this signal, Percy feels like he'south fighting an uphill boxing merely to get through the twenty-four hours without feeling totally lonely—and he doesn't understand at this early stage that this is because he's non entirely human.

Mr. Brunner leads the class through the galleries. They stop at a stele (a grave marker), and Percy tries to listen to Mr. Brunner's explanation, but kids talking make it hard to hear. The evil math instructor, Mrs. Dodds, gives Percy a look whenever he tells a kid to shut up. She's hated Percy since she arrived midway through the year, and Percy suspects she's not man. Nancy continues to talk and finally, Percy tells her loudly to stop. Everyone laughs, and Mr. Brunner asks Percy to explain the pictures on the stele. Percy explains that information technology's the Titan Kronos eating his kids, but someone hid baby Zeus and when Zeus grew up, he tricked Kronos into airsickness upward the other children. Then there was a fight and the gods won.

Here, Percy shows that he'due south not a bad student. He clearly pays attention in Mr. Brunner's class and wants to practise well, but the other kids and even some of the teachers at Yancy brand it hard for him. This suggests that it's not Percy'southward fault that he'southward not doing well—in a diverseness of ways, he's been ready to neglect. Though the story of Kronos eating his children seems similar just a story for Percy at this point, it's important background data for the reader. It introduces the idea that the Greek gods don't take an entirely salubrious family unit dynamic.

When Nancy mumbles loudly that none of this applies to real life, Mr. Brunner asks Percy to explain why information technology does matter. Percy doesn't know. Disappointed, Mr. Brunner finishes the story of what happened: Zeus and the other gods defeated Kronos, sliced him up, and threw him into Tartarus in the Underworld. Then, Mr. Brunner sends everyone exterior for lunch merely calls Percy back. Mr. Brunner insists that Percy must learn why all of this is of import for existent life. Percy wants to be aroused about how hard Mr. Brunner pushes him, since Percy has dyslexia and ADHD and struggles to memorize and spell. Percy mumbles that he'll try harder.

Fifty-fifty if Percy chafes under Mr. Brunner's pressure, Mr. Brunner'south desire for Percy to do well nevertheless is good for Percy, since it makes him experience every bit though someone believes in him. Though it'due south unclear at this indicate why, exactly, Mr. Brunner is eager to convince Percy that Greek, this has important implications for all readers. Greek mythology and culture has influenced Western civilization in major ways. While the stories themselves may be entertainment at present, they nevertheless are important to understanding Western culture.

Outside, in that location's a large storm brewing—Percy figures it's global warming. He gladly gives Grover his apple and thinks longingly of Mom, who lives close by. As Mr. Brunner parks his wheelchair and starts eating, Nancy walks past and dumps her tiffin in Grover'southward lap. Percy tries to command his temper but somehow—he doesn't remember how—Nancy ends upwards in the fountain. Mrs. Dodds appears immediately, and kids whisper that the water grabbed Nancy. Mrs. Dodds asks Percy to come with her. Grover tries to insist that he pushed Nancy, but Mrs. Dodds just smirks. Percy turns to Grover and when he looks dorsum, Mrs. Dodds is at the superlative of the stairs. Percy figures this is just part of his ADHD; lapses like this happen oft.

It'south worth taking Percy's narration with a grain of salt, given that he's an unreliable narrator considering he filters everything that happens through his very biased point of view. Still, the way he tries to justify what he does and doesn't see is noteworthy. Although there's clearly something odd going on, equally Mrs. Dodds seems to climb an entire flight of stairs in the blink of an eye, Percy believes that this kind of occurrence is his ADHD playing tricks on him.

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Mrs. Dodds leads Percy to an empty Greek and Roman gallery. She makes a weird dissonance and tells Percy that he's giving them bug. With an evil look, she says that they've plant him out—and if he confesses, he'll endure less. Percy has no idea what she'due south talking well-nigh. Then, Mrs. Dodds transforms into a shriveled hag with bat wings, fangs, and glowing eyes. Mr. Brunner appears and throws Percy a pen, which turns into a bronze sword. As Mrs. Dodds flies at Percy, he swings the sword and Mrs. Dodds dissolves into powder. Percy finds himself lonely, holding a pen. He heads outside. Nancy hisses that she hopes Mrs. Kerr was awful to Percy—only Percy thinks that they don't even have a instructor by this name. Confused, Percy asks Grover where Mrs. Dodds went, but Grover claims he doesn't know who Mrs. Dodds is. Mr. Brunner asks for his pen dorsum and, when Percy asks, says there's no Mrs. Dodds at Yancy.

Something incredibly bizarre has clearly happened—and yet, everyone in Percy'due south life insists that it didn't. This makes Percy feel fifty-fifty more similar he doesn't fit in at Yancy Academy or in the real earth. Particularly when Grover, Percy's best friend, doesn't validate Percy's experience, it makes Percy feel even more lonely and abnormal. Equally far every bit Percy is concerned, he's going crazy—and given that he'due south already struggling in schoolhouse, it's probable that this self-doubt will take even further negative effects on his power to part at Yancy.

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