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Chaptes Nineteen & Twenty

Summary: Chapter Nineteen

As Percy, Annabeth, and Grover head toward the house of Hades, the flying shoes Grover is wearing take off and fly him toward the pit from Percy’s dream. The shoes fall off of Grover before he falls into the pit as Percy and Annabeth catch up. When they sit down to catch their breath, Percy notices that his backpack feels heavier. A whisper echoes from the pit signifying the entrance to the stormy pit of Tartarus and the three flee before they are sucked down. 

Finally, they meet Hades who accuses Percy of stealing not only the master bolt, but also his Helm of Darkness. Hades claims he does not want war because he would have to hire more staff to support the extra deaths. Percy denies stealing either item, but Hades warns him that he will unleash the dead back into the world if his helm is not returned. Hades tells Percy to check his backpack. Percy opens it and reveals the master bolt in his possession. Percy feels defeated, knowing that someone has been manipulating him. Hades says he knows that Percy came to bargain for his mother’s life. He then shows Percy a vision of his mother in a ball of gold fire. 

Hades threatens to kill Percy’s mother if he does not return his helm. Percy grabs the pearls to leave Hades, but realizes he only has three and cannot save himself, his friends, and his mother. He gives up the idea of a joyful reunion with his mother and uses the pearls to escape with Annabeth and Grover in order to return the master bolt to Olympus. The three are dropped into the ocean at Santa Monica and plan to not only return the master’s bolt, but also to talk with the god who tricked them.

Summary: Chapter Twenty

On the shore, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover confront Ares about stealing the master bolt and the Helm of Darkness. Ares admits that while he did not personally steal them, since gods cannot steal each other’s symbols of power, he did have someone else take it. Ares wants war, so he framed Percy as the culprit in order to achieve a three-way war against Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades. He explains that magic similar to that in Riptide, the sword, was used on the backpack, so that the bolt would appear in the backpack once Percy entered the Underworld. Since Percy still has the master bolt, Ares says he will have to kill Percy so that it cannot be returned to Zeus. 

Percy and Ares make a deal that they will fight and if Percy wins, he will return the bolt and be free from Ares; however, if he loses, Ares can take the bolt and transform Percy into anything Ares wishes. The two engage in battle but are interrupted by mortals who recognize Percy as the boy from the news. Ares fires at the mortals while Percy uses the waves against him and stabs him in the heel. As Ares prepares to implement his next attack, a strange force stops him and he lowers his sword in defeat. He tells Percy to watch out because he’s made a new enemy, then disappears in a bright light. 

The Furies appear next and take the Helm of Darkness to return to Hades after they acknowledge that Percy did not steal it. As they fly away, Percy joins Grover and Annabeth and they briefly ponder who or what stopped Ares from continuing the fight. The three decide the fastest way to get to New York to return the bolt is by flying in an airplane, despite Percy’s fear of Zeus’s wrath.

Analysis: Chapters Nineteen & Twenty

To successfully accomplish his quest and get out of the Underworld alive, Percy must utilize the values and skills he has been taught by those he looks up to. Despite the fact that he is a demigod, he realizes that his humanity is what defines him; what makes someone a hero is their ability to be a good person and friend. His loyalty, compassion, empathy, willingness to sacrifice for others, and trust in his friends are all strengths and characteristics of a hero. The pit, on the other hand, represents darkness, evil, and the unknown. Since such negative influences are foreign to Percy, he struggles to overcome them.

In Hades, Percy faces not only the story’s external antagonist, but also a test of his own values. Percy is upset that the gods have toyed with him; the values he holds most dear—trust, loyalty, doing the right thing—fuel his anger, as he has been made to look untrustworthy as a result of Ares’s plan, and this is a direct subversion of what he stands for. Percy learns he must not place his trust in those who may use that trust to manipulate him. He has grown to the point where he is confident in himself and his identity and is not defined by who his father is. He is able to stand up to bullies who have underestimated him, and those that have tried to use him for their own selfish ends. 

After Percy succeeds in the fight against Ares, he knows it is due in large part to being backed by the people who love him. This victory reinforces just how important family and close friends are and feeds into the idea that success on any journey in life is difficult without support. The thought of returning to his mother, the most important person in his life, also bolsters Percy’s determination. His ADHD proves to be an asset, enabling Percy to deepen his relationship with himself. In contrast, Ares has none of the advantages that Percy has; Ares has leaned into the idea that families are dysfunctional, and that manipulation is the only way to succeed. This belief is ultimately what allows Percy to overcome Ares, as Ares has no one to come to his aid.

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