67 pages • 2 hours read
Rick RiordanThe Lightning Thief
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary: “I Plunge to My Death”
The reward money from the poodle’s return pays for train tickets as far as Denver. The three spend the next two days on the train. Percy mumbles in his sleep, and when Annabeth asks who he was talking to, Percy finally explains the dream about the presence in the pit. Annabeth says it doesn’t sound like Hades, but Percy argues it must be because the presence offered Percy his mother back. Annabeth warns Percy against making deals with Hades. When Percy asks what she’d do if it was her dad, Annabeth responds, “I'd leave him to rot” (200).
The train stops in St. Louis, and Annabeth insists they go to the top of the Gateway Arch. She wants to be an architect so she can design monuments like it someday, and she refuses to miss seeing it. The whole way up, Percy feels like something isn’t quite right but can’t figure out what it is. They board the arch’s elevator with a large woman and her little dog. On the way down, there’s no room for Percy in the elevator. He sends Annabeth and Grover down and finds himself waiting with the woman and dog. The dog morphs into a chimera, and the woman reveals herself as Echidna (mother of monsters). Zeus sent her to find Percy and deal with him.
Percy battles the chimera, losing Riptide and taking a poisonous blow from the monster’s tale. Losing strength and out of options, Percy prays “Father, help me” (211), jumps off the arch, and plummets toward the Mississippi River.
Chapter 14 Summary: “I Become a Known Fugitive”
Percy lands safely on the bottom of the river and thanks Poseidon for his help. Though he’s underwater, Percy is completely dry and can light things on fire as long as he’s touching them. He retrieves Riptide and comes face-to-face with a ghostlike woman. She tells him to go to the beach in Santa Monica and that his “mother's fate is not as hopeless as you believe” (214). She warns him not to trust gifts but fades before she can explain more.
Percy gets out of the river and finds Annabeth and Grover. They’re leaving the scene of the destroyed arch when Percy hears his name. Percy has been linked to the bus crash in New Jersey and now to the destruction of the arch. He’s a wanted fugitive. Percy, Grover, and Annabeth get back on the train and leave town without being spotted.
Chapter 15 Summary: “A God Buys Us Cheeseburgers”
They arrive in Denver the next day. Annabeth leads them to a car wash, where they use a spray gun to make a rainbow and send an IM (short for Ira message, an instant video-chat message sent by Iris, goddess of rainbows) to Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth and Grover go deal with a blaring radio from a nearby car, leaving Percy to talk to Luke. The camp is nearly at war over the Zeus-Poseidon feud.
Percy tells Luke everything they’ve been through so far, and Luke speculates Hades took the lightning bolt because in order to steal it from the throne room “you'd have to be invisible” (223). After an awkward pause, he backtracks, saying he didn’t mean to implicate Annabeth could be guilty due to her invisibility cap. Percy keeps the details of the call a secret.
The three go to a restaurant, where Ares buys them dinner. He offers to help them get out West and to give them information about Percy’s mother. In return, the three must retrieve his shield from a nearby waterpark. He left it there after meeting with Aphrodite, his girlfriend and wife of Hephaestus. They find the shield in the emptied pool of a ride that’s surrounded by cupid statues. Percy trips a wire, and the statues turn on him and Annabeth, surrounding them with a golden net. A voice announces the pool will be broadcast live to Mount Olympus. It’s a trap to catch Ares and Aphrodite together. Using the ride’s pipes, Percy floods the pool so the ride carries them away from the trap. Off the ride, Percy angrily announces they “need to have a little talk with Ares” (243).
Chapter 16 Summary: “We Take a Zebra to Vegas”
Percy and his friends go back to the restaurant and confront Ares about playing a trick on them. Ares shrugs off the confrontation and gives the kids a backpack of supplies. A nearby truck transporting animals is headed west, with one stop in Las Vegas, and is the ride Ares promised. Though Percy wants to punch Ares because he reminds him of “every bully I'd ever faced” (243), he keeps his cool long enough to demand the information about his mother. Ares reveals Percy’s mother isn’t dead. She’s being held hostage.
On the truck, the three find animals in cages. They make the animals and themselves as comfortable as possible before settling down for the night. Percy asks Annabeth what will happen if the gods go to war over the lightning bolt—if their godly parents will end up on different sides. Annabeth doesn’t know but says no matter what, she’ll be on Percy’s side “because you're my friend” (251).
Percy dreams about the presence in the pit again. When he wakes, the truck is stopped, and the driver comes back to check the animals. Rather than a simple transporter, the trucker is an animal smuggler. Since Poseidon created horses, the zebra can speak to Percy. It begs him for help. The kids free the animals and run before the police blame them for the smuggling. They end up at the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Inside, a bellhop gives them unlimited cash, a suite on the 400th floor, and access to anything they could possibly want. They play games in the lobby for a while, and Percy asks a few people how long they’ve been there. They all say about a week, but many wear outdated clothing and use slang from decades ago. When Percy has trouble remembering his mother’s name, he realizes something is very wrong. He finds Annabeth and Grover, and they escape the hotel. Outside, five days have passed, and they have “one day to complete our quest” (265).
Chapters 13-16 Analysis
Percy acknowledges Poseidon as his father for the first time in Chapter 13. In doing so, he accepts his demigod nature and the trials that come with it. His prayer leads to him landing safely in the river, even though rivers aren’t in the sea god’s jurisdiction. Following the prayer, Percy also discovers new skills. Anything he touches remains dry, like him, in the water. He also finds he can talk to horses and other similar creatures, such as the zebra in Chapter 16.
Percy’s conversation with Luke reveals Percy’s guilt. Though he’s come to terms with what he is, Percy feels a sense of responsibility for Camp Half-Blood’s well-being, since his quest determines the fate of war. Until the end of the book, the weight of responsibility keeps Percy from realizing Luke is the thief. Luke preys upon Percy’s insecurity to plant the idea of Annabeth being the thief. Percy dismisses the idea almost immediately. Subconsciously, he trusts Annabeth implicitly. Annabeth feels the same, as is evident when she says she’d fight on Percy’s side even if doing so meant opposing Athena.
Riordan references Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey with the Lotus Hotel. The hotel represents the Lotus Eaters. In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew visit the island of the Lotus Eaters when they are blown off course. Wishing to learn more, Odysseus sends a few men to talk with the islanders. The islanders give the men flowers from the Lotus plant, which make the men wish only to stay on the island, eat more Lotus, and never consider returning home again. Time passes around the Lotus Eaters without them noticing. Similarly, five days go by while Percy and his friends enjoy the hotel, and they don’t become aware of time passing until they are back in the real world. The hotel also kept Percy from remembering his quest and goals, another side effect of Lotus in the Odyssey.
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