Isolation In The Lightning Thief

The novel, The Lightning Thief, is about a 12-year old boy named Percy who discovers that he is a Greek demi-god. This fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek myths contains key elements of mythology and demonstrates the theme of isolation along with how it can affect a person’s actions and feelings.

One theme that is conveyed through the author’s use of important events and details in The Lightning Thief is that isolation often leads to bitterness, hatred, and brutality. In the text it states, “’But Hades doesn’t have a cabin here.’ ‘No. He doesn’t have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld.’” This justifies the identified theme because Hades lives in the underworld, sealed out from entering Mount

‘Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses’ (Riordan126). This is an example of “Explanation of the Origins of Life and the Natural World” because this key element explains the foundation of life and the natural world. In this event it explains to us that Poseidon is responsible for the shaking of the Earth, storms, and horses. In the text it also states, “What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. ….The fire started in Greece…..The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while. Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there…..All you need to do is look at the architecture’” (Riordan 156). This is also an example of “Explanation of the Origins of Life and the Natural World” because it is explaining how the Western civilization came to be. According to the novel, Western civilization was created because of the gods. This is why one key element of mythology that is represented in The Lightning Thief is “Explanation of the Origins of Life and the Natural