The Son of Neptune

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2011

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Chapters 37-40Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 37 Summary: “Percy”

On the plane, Percy, Frank, and Hazel talk about what Frank learned from Mars and how they are all three parts of the Prophecy of Seven. Hazel realizes for the first time that Percy is Greek, and he admits it, telling them his memories are coming back quickly now, thanks to the gorgon blood. Hazel worries that people at Camp Jupiter, specifically Octavian, would not like to know a Greek camp exists. The “Greeks and Romans have a long history of bad blood” (389), and it is unlikely they will work freely with one another. This is the reason Percy believes Juno sent him to Camp Jupiter. She wanted him to smooth the way for a truce.

Percy takes a nap so he can reach out to his friends. He finds Tyson, his brother who is a cyclops, in the woods near Frank’s family home with Percy’s hellhound, Mrs. O’Leary. He tells Tyson he is safe and asks him to care for Ella. He then instructs Tyson to go to Camp Jupiter to help in the impending battle. Before he can tell him anymore, his dream is interrupted by images of Polybotes preparing for battle. They are waiting for the cyclopes to rejoin them but are prepared to attack the following day at sundown. The dream abruptly ends, and Percy wakes and learns they are in Alaska.

Chapter 38 Summary: “Percy”

The friends grab a taxi to downtown Anchorage where they discover giants called Hyperboreans who live casually in Alaska, invisible to mortals. They stop in a diner to figure out their next steps. Hazel draws a map to show them where Hubbard Glacier is, and how difficult it will be to reach. They decide to take a train to Seward, the village where Hazel once lived, and charter a boat to the glacier. Percy pauses at the train station to call his mother, leaving a message on her machine. The train leaves, but before they make it far, they are attacked by gryphons, flying creatures that are half panther and half eagle. The gryphons derail the train.

Chapter 39 Summary: “Percy”

Frank uses the final charge on his spear to protect the mortals from the gryphons. One gryphon lifts Percy and tries to fly away with him, but Frank saves him with an arrow. Percy finds a gryphon nest and threatens an egg, causing the creatures to back off. Hazel distracts the gryphons with precious metals collected in the nests while Frank and Percy run toward a giant that happens to be sitting quietly in a nearby field. Frank, Percy, and Hazel hide under the giant’s bottom while the gryphons try to attack them. The giant grows annoyed and freezes the gryphons with his breath.

Chapter 40 Summary: “Percy”

The friends walk for several hours before reaching a village called Moose Pass. They sit and have a snack, then sleep until dawn. A local store owner arranges a ride for them, but they break down a few miles from Seward. When they come within sight of the town, Percy tries to take a shortcut off-road only to discover he has stepped into a field of muskeg, marshy silt and decomposed plants that are “worse than quicksand” (419).

Chapters 37-40 Analysis

Juno, unlike her emotional and jealous counterpart Hera, has been motivated by strategy and survival as she reveals her designs. Juno’s actions to switch Percy and Jason from their camps and remove their memories to benefit the Roman and Greek unions point to a larger cause on the horizon. That a goddess has become so deeply involved in the lives of demigods highlights the importance behind Juno’s plans to prevent Gaea’s impending war. Her designs are further bolstered by Mars’s appearances to the camp and to Frank, as he too, understands what lies on the horizon.

The return of Percy’s memories introduces new knowledge that helps the three demigods on their quest in Alaska, but also a sense of guilt towards his mother for disappearing. Percy’s strategic usefulness and attempt to call his mother outline how his motives are pure, and his overall goal is to return to his life in the Greek camp while helping his new Roman friends. In addition, Percy’s guilt highlights his loyalty to family and friends, traits that Mars and Juno have both pointed out as Percy’s weaknesses.

Tension builds as it seems unlikely that they will be able to complete their quest and return to Camp Jupiter in time to help with the battle. Percy and Hazel’s dive into the muskeg only reiterate this sense of hopelessness and urgency.

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By Rick Riordan

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