The Son of Neptune

Accepting one’s family legacy becomes a theme for the characters as they encounter their own obstacles through the course of the narrative. This acceptance is core to how the world of demigods operates. For example, Camp Jupiter is a safe place for children of the gods to live and train as warriors. It is also a safe place to live for those who are legacies of the legion. The camp is exclusive for those with ancient family ties, illustrating the importance of one’s family legacy. Those living in New Rome and members of the Twelfth Legion can trace their family history back to Roman gods, both major and minor. Their families have done great things that can be called heroic. As the three demigods journey on their quest to free Thanatos, the role of accepting family legacies becomes key to resolving both their inner conflict as well as the conflict around them.

Frank, Hazel, and Percy’s family legacies directly influence their roles within Camp Jupiter. Frank feels out of place in the camp, as he does not know his father’s identity and is only aware of a great-grandfather’s role in the camp’s destruction in 1901. Frank’s shame of his family’s legacy affects his self-confidence and the relationships he has with the other campers as they write him off as insignificant. Hazel knows her family’s legacy and is riddled with guilt, shame, and anger because of it. Her father’s role in her life has been infrequent at best, and though Pluto attempted to prevent her mother’s continued relationship with Gaea, he was ultimately powerless to prevent Hazel’s and her mother’s death. Even though she’s aware of her godly parent’s identity, Hazel is outcast because of her father’s role of god of the Underworld. In addition, Percy is aware of his father’s identity, but Neptune is not a god favored by the Romans, so he too is seen as a foreboding presence and social pariah. He has accepted his legacy the most out of the three, but has lost a significant portion of his memory, leaving him as lost as his counterparts as he tries to regain his sense of self.

As the novel progresses, Frank meets his father, Mars, and learns more about his family’s ancient lineage and gifts rooted in Greek, Roman, and Chinese myths. This knowledge allows him to see himself in a new light and gives him the self-confidence he needs to battle cyclopes, giants, and gryphons. Hazel accepts her mother’s actions and her family’s legacy in helping Gaea and redeems herself by defeating Alcyoneus. She is given the relief she needs and is even given another chance at life as her father removes her name from Thanatos’s reaping list. Percy regains his memory, and with it, his sense of self tied to his family’s legacy. He knew who his father was, that he could manipulate water, and that he could speak with horses, but did not remember the finer details as to why those things mattered. In remembering his past, Percy reaccepts his family legacy, including his brother Tyson, and his role as Poseidon’s son.

It is only when the three demigods can accept their family legacies that they can truly accept themselves. They accept both their weaknesses and their strengths and use that acceptance to embrace all parts of themselves. It also gives them confidence that they use both in battle and in their relationships.

Frank, Hazel, and Percy tie their identities to their fathers purposefully and unintentionally due to the way their world operates, and this tie effects the way they develop as demigods. Frank does not know his father’s identity at the beginning of the novel and did not know he was a demigod until his mother’s untimely death. At first, this unknown serves as a beacon of hope for Frank, who finds himself hoping his father is Apollo, the god of archery, because of his skill in and love for archery. However, Frank is disappointed to learn Mars, the god of war, is his father because he has been struggling with the idea of war and mayhem since his mother’s death. Learning that his father is the god of war is devastating on several levels for Frank. A father who is a god as powerful as Mars is a high bar to live up to as a son. Mars also represents the circumstances that led to his mother’s death. Finally, being the son of Mars forces Frank to change the way he looks at himself and what he sees as his weaknesses. Frank struggles to reconcile his mother’s choice with her death, but he accepts that he can benefit from being the son of the god of war and that his father’s legacy doesn’t have to be the only thing that defines him.

Hazel also struggles with her identity when it comes to her father, whose identity wasn’t revealed to her until her 13th birthday. The revelation was laced with resentment and anger, as he threw some art supplies to her on the way to speak to her mother. When her mother and father interacted, Hazel’s mother was consistently upset, raising her voice, and blaming her father for their troubles. Pluto is the Roman god of the Underworld and riches, explaining Hazel’s unfortunate ability to produce precious jewels and metals spontaneously that curse those who pocket them. While she does not blame her father for this ability, she resents him for turning a blind eye to her in the Underworld. Although she has complicated feelings toward her father, Hazel believes that the fact that she was not on Thanatos’s list to be returned to the Underworld might be her father’s way of encouraging her to participate in the war against Gaea. Hazel knows very little about her father, therefore her feelings toward him are complicated.

Percy’s father is completely absent from the narrative, with his complications with his father seen in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Percy feels a responsibility towards his mother for disappearing, due to his identity as a demigod. His father’s role as Neptune is only mentioned sparingly as a god the Romans fear, but do not respect, as they were only land-dwelling people with little oceanic activity. His lack of connection to his father does not affect him the way Hazel’s and Frank’s fathers do but reinforces the unusual relationships demigods have with their godly parents. Neptune’s silence is par for the course, as most demigods do not have relationships with their godly parent.