67 pages • 2 hours read
The Lightning Thief
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Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus”
Percy may bring two companions on the quest. He chooses Grover, and Annabeth volunteers. Armed with gifts from the gods, the three prepare to leave. Annabeth has a cap of invisibility from Athena. Chiron gives Percy Riptide, the sword-pen he killed Mrs. Dodds with, and Luke offers Percy a pair of winged sneakers that were a gift from Hermes. Chiron warns Percy against using the shoes. The air is Zeus’s domain, and for Percy to fly “would not be wise for you” (152). Percy gives the shoes to Grover.
Camp security takes Grover, Percy, and Annabeth to New York City so they can catch a bus. After Percy and his friends get on the bus, Mrs. Dodds and two identical women (the three Furies) board. Percy hides but reveals himself when it looks like Annabeth and Grover are in danger. The fight that follows causes the bus driver to crash, and Percy gets everyone off the bus just before it explodes. Mrs. Dodds calls for reinforcements, forcing Percy and his friends to flee.
Chapter 11 Summary: “We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium”
Percy and Annabeth argue about Percy getting involved in the fight on the bus. A bit later, Annabeth apologizes and explains that if Percy dies the quest ends and this might be her “only chance to see the real world” (169).
After walking for a mile, the three come to Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium. Percy and Annabeth smell food coming from the store. Grover cautions them not to go in, but they ignore him. Inside, life-sized statues with lifelike eyes are everywhere. Aunty Em is an older woman who wears all black, including a veil over her face. She ushers the children to the dining area at the back of the store, where she feeds them and tells them about her two sisters. The story starts putting Percy to sleep, but a frightened Annabeth shakes him awake. The woman asks them for a photo before they go but doesn’t produce a camera. Annabeth realizes just in time that Aunty Em is Medusa and pushes Grover and Percy down before they are all turned to stone by the woman’s gaze.
Medusa wants to take revenge on Athena by destroying Annabeth. Athena turned Medusa into a monster after she had an affair with Poseidon (the source of Athena and Poseidon’s feud). Medusa implores Percy to help her, telling him “do not be a pawn of the Olympians” (180). Percy uses Riptide to decapitate the monster, and the three wrap up her head so they don’t accidentally look at it. Feeling angry at the gods for all the trouble he’s encountered in just one day, Percy puts Medusa’s head in a box and sends it to Mount Olympus. In the back room of Medusa’s store, they find an address for the Underworld in West Hollywood, California.
Chapter 12 Summary: “We Get Advice From a Poodle”
The three spend the night in a litter-filled part of the forest. Grover laments how humans are destroying nature and how, if it keeps up, he’ll “never find Pan” (189). Pan is the god of wild places, who disappeared over 2,000 years ago. Grover wants to earn a license to search for the missing god and needs to succeed on Percy’s quest to make up for his previous failure. Five years ago, he barely got Annabeth and Luke to Camp Half-Blood, and they lost Thalia (the daughter of Zeus) in a battle at the camp property line. Percy’s quest is Grover’s last chance to prove himself worthy.
Percy has a nightmare about an evil presence in a pit that he believes is Hades. The presence tries to drag Percy into its prison and orders him to bring the bolt to “Strike a blow against the treacherous gods” (194). Percy wakes to find Grover holding a pink poodle. The poodle’s owners, Grover says, have offered a $200 reward for its return. The three will return the poodle, collect the reward, and buy train tickets to go out West.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
Medusa is a monster from Greek mythology and the first story Riordan modernizes to fit Greek myth into today’s world. In the story, Medusa’s gaze turns people to stone. The “gnomes” at her store are really victims of her gaze. Later, we see some of her statues in the Underworld. Riordan writes that Medusa does some custom work for Hades, making her sound like an artist on commission, not just a monster.
Medusa sheds light on the feud between Athena and Poseidon. Athena punished Medusa for having an affair with Poseidon, another example of gods experiencing human emotions (jealousy). Athena’s actions contrast with Annabeth’s. While Athena shuns Poseidon, Annabeth forms an unshakable friendship with Percy. Medusa also represents the widespread discontentment with the gods. She is the first of several figures from Greek myth who refer to the gods as “treacherous” or in a similar way. Here, Riordan makes a comparison between human and mythological leadership. Humans do not always support or believe in their leaders, and the same goes for monsters and demigods. Percy’s boxing of Medusa’s head sends a message of discontentment. It also foreshadows the head’s reappearance in Chapter 21.
Percy has another dream in Chapter 12. Again, this dream reveals information about the malevolent presence in the pit (Kronos). It, too, refers to the gods as “treacherous” and urges Percy to work against them. Coming right after Medusa’s attack and Percy’s anger at the gods, this dream is both a sign and an offering. Kronos reaches across worlds to play with Percy’s emotions, trying to influence Percy when he’s at his most confused and vulnerable. The dream shows how powerful Kronos is even in his weakened state. Later, Percy understands how much of a threat Kronos could be based on what the titan can do from his prison.
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By Rick Riordan
