The Lightning Thief Conflict Essay

The Role of Conflict in The Lightning Thief The novel The Lightning Thief, written by Rick Riordan, tells the story of a 12 year-old boy named Percy Jackson, who struggles with school, bullies, and supernatural powers. The story takes place in modern-day New York and is narrated by Percy Jackson. Percy Jackson lives in an apartment in Manhattan, New York with his mother, Sally Jackson, and his stepfather, (Smelly) Gabe. Percy goes to Yancy Academy, a boarding school, where he shares a dorm with his strange friend, Grover Underwood and puts up with Nancy Bobofit, the bully. Throughout the story, Percy deals with repeating conflict including his struggles with school, bullies, nature, and supernatural powers at work around him, making this story a tense and exciting adventure. The conflict begins in the first chapter when Percy and his friend Grover are on a class field trip to a museum.

He finds out that he and his mom are going to Montauk for a vacation at the beach. In the middle of the night, a severe thunderstorm sets in and Grover arrives in the middle of the night saying that something is following him. He looks at Percy’s mom and she tells Percy and Grover to get in the car. As they speed down the road, Percy asks his mom where they are going. She replies that they are going to a summer camp where Percy’s original father would want Percy to go. When they near their destination, their car is blasted off the road by lightning, knocking Grover unconscious. It is during this time that Percy realizes that they are being chased by the Minotaur, a monster half man and half bull. The Minotaur grabs Percy’s mom and seemingly kills her, dissolving her into a flash of light. Yelling in rage, Percy defeats the monster by ripping off its horn and stabbing it in the gut with its horn. Percy then drags Grover over the hill, and collapses on the porch of a house at the foot of the other side of the