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Mist
Monsters, such as Medusa, the Minotaur, and the Furies, are mythical creatures that either torment or serve the gods and often torment demigods and mortals. Many of them serve Hades, the god of the Underworld. Slaying one or more monsters is often a major feature of heroes’ journeys. Like gods, monsters cannot truly die; they reincarnate and can be slayed again. They cannot enter Camp Half-Blood unless they’re summoned.
Monster Quotes in The Lightning Thief
The The Lightning Thief quotes below are all either spoken by Monster or refer to Monster. 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:
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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.
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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.”
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Chapter 18
Quotes
I thought maybe Annabeth and I both had the right idea. Even here in the Underworld, everybody—even monsters—needed a little attention once in a while.
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Chapter 20
Quotes
The middle Fury, the one who had been Mrs. Dodds, stepped forward. Her fangs were bared, but for once she didn’t look threatening. She looked more disappointed, as if she’d been planning to have me for supper, but had decided I might give her indigestion.
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Monster Term Timeline in The Lightning Thief
The timeline below shows where the term Monster appears in The Lightning Thief. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...that nothing Percy has seen is a myth, but the less Percy knew, the fewer monsters he’d attract. He explains that they tried to use Mist to obscure what was going...
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...three start up the hill. Percy looks back and gets a good look at the monster. He starts to say that it’s the Minotaur, but Mom shushes him and says that...
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The Minotaur sniffs around the car; Mom explains that he goes on scent. The monster roars and tosses the Camaro down the road, where it explodes. Then, he starts up...
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Chapter 6
Percy is doubtful that he actually fought the Minotaur from myth, but Annabeth explains that monsters don’t have souls, so they can’t really die. She confirms that Mrs. Dodds, a Fury,...
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Chapter 7
...the summer if their parents aren’t too powerful, but others stay year-round since they attract monsters. Most demigods end up here or get killed; monsters can’t get in the camp unless...
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Chapter 8
...and had a daughter named Thalia 17 years ago. Children of Big Three attract more monsters anyway, but Thalia was also cursed because of Zeus’s broken promise. Hades let monsters out...
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Chapter 9
...climbs into the attic, which is filled with “Greek hero junk” and pickled parts of monsters. Most gruesome is a shriveled female mummy in a tie-dyed sundress and beaded necklaces. She...
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Chapter 10
...Chiron says the sword is named Anaklusmos, or Riptide. Percy can only use it against monsters, and it won’t hurt mortals since it’s made of celestial bronze. Chiron then shares that...
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...manages to hang on as Grover and Annabeth help him wrestle the whips from the monsters. They manage to tie up Mrs. Dodds, and Percy destroys another Fury. When thunder shakes...
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Chapter 11
...Half-Blood is just about training. She wants to be in the real world, where the monsters are. Annabeth begins to say that there was something odd on the bus, but Grover...
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...statue of a satyr that looks like his Uncle Ferdinand, and he insists he smells monsters. The door opens to reveal a tall woman in a black gown and veil that...
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Chapter 13
...museum; and Percy smells something odd, but Grover insists that underground air always smells like monsters. Still, something feels wrong. Percy asks about Hades’s symbol of power, the helm of darkness,...
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Chapter 18
...the gates. Alarms go off. As both Annabeth and Cerberus cry, Percy thinks that even monsters in the Underworld need attention.
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Chapter 22
...with Mom without Gabe. He remembers Annabeth’s insistence that the real world is where the monsters are, and he thinks of Thalia. He wonders if he’ll survive until next summer.
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There are no monsters around, so Percy and Luke settle in by the creek. They talk about whether Percy...
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