The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Chapters 1 and 2
“I Accidentally Vaporize my Pre-Algebra Teacher”
“Three Old Ladies Knit the Socks of Death”
Presentation by Mrs. Long
Block ___
Plot
The Sequence of Events
• Percy Jackson goes on a field trip to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art with his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, and his
pre-algebra teacher, Mrs. Dodds.
• Nancy Bobofit, a bully, picks on Grover, Percy’s friend, so Percy
pushes her and gets in trouble with Mrs. Dodds.
• Mrs. Dodds separates Percy from the rest of the class, and he
surprises Percy by turning into a Harpy who wants to kill him.
• Percy manages to kill the Harpy with the help of Mr. Brunner.
Plot Continued
• Percy takes his final exams, but he knows that he is failing most
of his classes and that this will be his last year at Yancy Academy.
• When Percy overhears Grover and Mr. Brunner talking about
him, he is confused by their references to Kindly Ones and
danger.
• When the bus taking Percy and Grover home breaks down, Percy
sees three ancient ladies knitting socks and staring at him. He
sees one of them cut a string of yarn and fears that somebody
might die.
Conflict
A struggle between opposing forces.
Internal Conflict:
• Percy feels guilty because he wants to do better in school and
make his mom and Mr. Brunner proud.
• Grover wants to tell Percy more about the danger he is in, but
for some reason Grover can’t.
External Conflict:
• Percy argues with Mrs. Dodds then he fights and kills her
when she changes into a Harpy.
Setting
Where and When a Story Takes Place
• Chapter One primarily takes place in the present time in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
• The first part of Chapter Two takes place at a boarding school
named Yancy Academy, and the second half takes place on
the bus ride home for summer vacation.
Characters
The people in the story
Protagonist(s): characters who work for good in the
story
• Percy Jackson
• Grover Underwood
• Mr. Brunner
Antagonist(s): characters whowork against the
protagonist.
• Nancy Bobofit
• Mrs. Dodds
Mythological Allusions
References to Greek and Roman Myths
• Demigod: a mortal who is half human and half god.
Most Greek and Roman heroes were demigods.
• Percy Jackson is a Halfblood or Demigod in the novel.
Mythological Allusions Continued
• Harpy – an ugly bird woman who eats people
in ancient Greek myths.
• Mrs. Dodds is a Harpy disguised as a math
teacher.
Mythological Allusions Continued
• The Fates – Three ancient women, Clotho, Lachesis, and
Atropos, who spun the thread of a person’s life and eventually
cut it upon a person’s death.
• The three old ladies Percy sees on the side of the road are
sewing electric blue socks. One takes out a strange looking
pair of scissors and cuts the yarn while staring at Percy. He
feels like it is an omen of someone’s death.
Review Questions
• Identify Mrs. Dodds.
• What were the old ladies knitting?
• Define demigod.
• What is an allusion?
• Where does Percy go to school?