The Lightning Thief

by

Rick Riordan

Demigod/Half-Blood Term Analysis

A demigod, or “half-blood,” is a person who has one mortal human parent and one parent who’s a god or goddess. Though demigods aren’t entirely divine—they’re still mortal—they’re not entirely human, either. In normal school settings, demigods are often dyslexic and struggle with ADHD, but both of these learning disabilities simply reflect that they don’t fit in in the mortal world. The dyslexia exists because demigods are hardwired to read ancient Greek, and ADHD really just means that they see everything and so have quick reflexes. Many young demigods don’t live long lives, as monsters are attracted to them and often kill them. The terms demigod and half-blood are used interchangeably in The Lightning Thief, though half-blood is more of a slang term.

Demigod/Half-Blood Quotes in The Lightning Thief

The The Lightning Thief quotes below are all either spoken by Demigod/Half-Blood or refer to Demigod/Half-Blood. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I’ve missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Mrs. Dodds, The Furies/The Kindly Ones
Page Number: 11
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

“I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud.”

I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Mom/Sally Jackson (speaker), Poseidon
Page Number: 38
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

“Will Grover be okay?” I asked Chiron.

Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. “Old Dionysus isn’t really mad. He just hates his job. He’s been...ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can’t stand waiting another century before he’s allowed to go back to Olympus.”

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Chiron/Mr. Brunner (speaker), Grover, Dionysus/Mr. D
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“The letters float off the page when you read, right? That’s because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you’re impulsive, can’t sit still in the classroom. That’s your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they’d keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that’s because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal’s.”

Related Characters: Annabeth Chase (speaker), Percy Jackson
Page Number: 88
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“That’s the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his son. Sometimes it happens.”

“You mean sometimes it doesn’t?”

Annabeth ran her palm along the rail. “The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and don’t always...Well, sometimes they don’t care about us, Percy. They ignore us.”

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Annabeth Chase (speaker), Mom/Sally Jackson, Poseidon
Page Number: 96
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

Just when I’d started to feel accepted, to feel like I had a home in cabin eleven and I might be a normal kid—or as normal as you can be when you’re a half-blood—I’d been separated out as if I had some rare disease.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Poseidon
Page Number: 127
Explanation and Analysis:

I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn’t think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I’d ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn’t sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he’d be with me.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Chiron/Mr. Brunner
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn’t lived with him every summer, you probably would’ve been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must’ve loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better.”

Related Characters: Grover (speaker), Percy Jackson, Mom/Sally Jackson, Smelly Gabe
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“I appeared on my father’s doorstep, in a golden cradle [...] You’d think my dad would remember that as a miracle, right? Like, maybe he’d take some digital photos or something. But he always talked about my arrival as if it were the most inconvenient thing that had ever happened to him. When I was five he got married and totally forgot about Athena. He got a ‘regular’ mortal wife, and had two ‘regular’ mortal kids, and tried to pretend I didn’t exist.”

Related Characters: Annabeth Chase (speaker), Percy Jackson, Annabeth’s Dad, Athena
Page Number: 200
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

My senses were working overtime. I now understood what Annabeth had said about ADHD keeping you alive in battle. I was wide awake, noticing every little detail.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Annabeth Chase, Ares
Related Symbols: Anaklusmos/Riptide/The Pen
Page Number: 328
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

I moved back into cabin three, but it didn’t feel so lonely anymore. I had my friends to train with during the day. At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing my father was out there. Maybe he wasn’t quite sure about me yet, maybe he hadn’t even wanted me born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what I’d done.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Annabeth Chase, Poseidon
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
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Demigod/Half-Blood Term Timeline in The Lightning Thief

The timeline below shows where the term Demigod/Half-Blood appears in The Lightning Thief. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
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... (full context)
Chapter 5
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...Percy sees ancient Greek architecture that looks brand-new. Kids and satyrs in shirts reading “Camp Half-Blood” play volleyball, canoe, shoot targets, and ride horses—some of which have wings. (full context)
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...him to take a seat. With a heavy sigh, Mr. D welcomes Percy to Camp Half-Blood. Percy can tell that Mr. D loves alcohol. Mr. Brunner then calls Annabeth forward and... (full context)
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...specifically to keep an eye on Percy and see if he was ready for Camp Half-Blood. Impatiently, Mr. D tells Grover to sit down for a game of pinochle and asks... (full context)
Chapter 6
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...kids here have gone through the same thing. She says that Percy is definitely a half-blood, since the ambrosia he drank didn’t kill him. (full context)
Chapter 7
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...the last few thousand years. Annabeth tells Percy the correct term for what he is: demigod. (full context)
Family Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...dad sends a sign—but the gods are busy, and sometimes they don’t care about their demigod kids. Percy thinks of the sullen demigod kids in the Hermes cabin, and the unwanted... (full context)
Chapter 8
Family Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...top of the hill above camp, Thalia told her keeper to take the other two half-bloods traveling with them to safety while she held off the monsters. She died in this... (full context)
Chapter 10
Family Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...married Smelly Gabe for Percy’s sake—Gabe smells so repulsively human that he can mask Percy’s demigod scent. He says that Mom was very smart to do this. Percy feels guilty for... (full context)
Chapter 11
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...She explains that it doesn’t work for her to live with her dad, but Camp Half-Blood is just about training. She wants to be in the real world, where the monsters... (full context)
Chapter 13
Family Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...at seven years old. Athena guided Annabeth, along with a couple of friends, to Camp Half-Blood. (full context)
Chapter 15
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...Annabeth explains that they’re Iris messaging: the goddess Iris carries messages for gods and sometimes half-bloods. Once Grover creates a misty rainbow, Annabeth tosses a drachma into the rainbow and requests... (full context)
Chapter 16
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...pine tree. Grover brays and confirms that he was Thalia’s keeper and that the two half-bloods who got safely to camp were Annabeth and Luke. Annabeth and Grover explain that Grover’s... (full context)
Family Theme Icon
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...him. Annabeth went, but her stepmom was still awful, and so Annabeth returned to Camp Half-Blood in the winter. Percy suggests that she try again. Then, after another bit of silence,... (full context)
Chapter 18
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...the counter. He insists that he’s dead, but Mr. Charon hisses that Percy is a half-blood. Percy insists on going to the Underworld and bravely refuses to let Mr. Charon take... (full context)
Chapter 21
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
...the trio’s plane tickets. When they reach New York, Percy sends Annabeth and Grover to Half-Blood Hill to tell Chiron the truth. If he dies, he wants to make sure Chiron... (full context)
Family Theme Icon
Godliness vs. Humanity Theme Icon
Percy enters the massive throne room. The thrones are arranged like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood, with a fire in the middle. Only two gods sit at the end: Zeus in... (full context)
Friendship and Belonging Theme Icon
...to find her own courage. Percy says he’ll leave the box and go back to Half-Blood Hill. At the door, Percy can’t believe he’s leaving without taking revenge. When Gabe heckles... (full context)
Chapter 22
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
Annabeth, Percy, and Grover are the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so they participate in a traditional feast and burn the burial shrouds... (full context)