lighting thief drawing when the bus crahed into the tree
Grover is beside himself as Annabeth angrily pulls him and Percy along. After a minute, Annabeth thanks Percy for coming back for her, but she says that if he'd died, she would've lost her only chance to see the outside world. She explains that it doesn't work for her to live with her dad, but Camp Half-Blood is just about training. She wants to be in the real world, where the monsters are. Annabeth begins to say that there was something odd on the bus, but Grover shrilly blows on his pipes and says that he can find our route if he can remember a "find path" song. His tune, however, sounds like Hilary Duff. The trio fights through the forest for another mile until Percy smells fried food and sees a neon sign up ahead.
Even if Annabeth is working through her thoughts on friendship, this quest also represents something potentially more important to her: the opportunity to exist in the real world for the first time. Though it may be somewhat normal for Annabeth to be at Camp Half-Blood, she also believes that what's even more normal for her, as a hero, is to fight monsters out in the world. In this sense, Percy is a tool for her as much as he is a friend—and she'll have to figure out how to deal with this intersection as the quest wears on.
Percy bursts out of the trees and sees a roadside curio shop selling lawn ornaments. It smells like fried food, though. He can't read the sign, so Grover translates: Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium. Percy and Annabeth approach, but Grover insists that the place is too weird. He bleats nervously when he sees a statue of a satyr that looks like his Uncle Ferdinand, and he insists he smells monsters. The door opens to reveal a tall woman in a black gown and veil that covers everything but her hands. Percy tells the woman that they're orphans separated from their circus caravan, which seems to affect the woman. She introduces herself as Aunty Em and offers to make them food in the back of the warehouse.
Grover is, importantly, not a normal 12-year-old kid—he's a satyr, and so the draw of fried food isn't as compelling for him as it is for Annabeth and Percy. The fact that Percy and Annabeth are so easily drawn into Aunty Em's shop drives home the idea that even though they may be heroes on a very important quest, they are still hungry 12-year-olds who crave burgers and French fries at times. They, like the gods and monsters, are distinctly human in some ways.
Most of the statues are life size, but Percy is too focused on food to care about Grover's whimpers or that Aunty Em locks the door. In the dining area, Annabeth admits that they don't have money. Aunty Em uses Annabeth's name and says it's okay. She then cooks them a feast of cheeseburgers, shakes, and French fries. Aunty Em sits across from them while they eat, and she assures Grover that he doesn't hear hissing. Sleepy, Percy tries politely to make conversation and asks about the gnome business. His neck tingles like someone is watching him, but there's only a statue of a girl holding an Easter basket behind him. The girl looks startled. Aunty Em says sadly that it's hard to get faces right, and she mentions that she used to have sisters to help her, but now, she's alone.
Percy makes it clear that there were a number of red flags as he entered Aunty Em's warehouse—but because he is human and therefore fallible in some ways, he both didn't notice and didn't trust Grover's assessment of danger. Despite this, it's important to realize that Annabeth and Percy are still heroes—and heroes can make mistakes, just like everyone else. By allowing the trio to walk into this trap and get sucked in, the novel makes it clear that anyone and everyone is susceptible to manipulation.
Themes
Percy feels very sad for Aunty Em, but he feels sleepy too. Annabeth jerks Percy back to life and says they must go meet the ringmaster, but Aunty Em asks if they'd sit for a photograph so she can make a new statue. Percy, wanting to be polite to a nice old lady who fed them for free, insists they oblige. Aunty Em leads them outside, arranges them on a bench, and then starts to remove her veil. Grover gasps that the satyr statue is Uncle Ferdinand, and Annabeth shouts to look away. Then, Annabeth makes herself invisible and pushes Grover and Percy to the ground. Percy stays on the ground, dazed, and sees that Aunty Em's hands are gnarled and have talons. He can hear snakes. He looks to the side and sees Aunty Em's reflection in a glass sphere: she's Medusa.
Monsters in disguise, like Medusa and the Furies, know very well how to embody normalcy in order to accomplish their goals. Medusa may be as normal as any other monster in the divine world, but in the mortal world, it's necessary for her to assume the identity of Aunty Em. Mrs. Dodds did the same thing by assuming the math teacher persona. The way that the monsters do this throughout the novel makes it clear that what's normal changes from situation to situation—and it's possible for individuals to pass as normal in a variety of settings.
Themes
Percy tries to think of how Medusa died in the Greek myth, but he's too groggy. He thinks that she was asleep when Perseus attacked her. Medusa says that Athena turned her into this cursed creature, and she asks Percy if he really wants to be a pawn of the gods. Grover shouts, flies in with a huge branch, and begins whacking Medusa. Percy runs away and hides. Annabeth appears next to Percy and says that he has to cut Medusa's head off. She gives him another glass sphere, and Percy uncaps Riptide. In the sphere, Percy sees Medusa grab Grover's stick, so he yells. Medusa lets him approach and look at her in the sphere before lunging, but Percy slashes up and hears the hiss of a monster disintegrating. He doesn't look when he hears a thud next to his foot.
The friends' individual talents allow them to triumph over Medusa: Grover uses his winged shoes, Annabeth uses her cunning and planning skills, and Percy uses his prowess with Riptide. It's the combination of these three very different talents and skillsets that allows them to emerge successful, which speaks to the power of friendship and working together. If the friends continue to work together as they encounter monsters, they have a better chance of completing the quest and emerging victorious.
Themes
Annabeth covers the head in the black veil and explains that the head is a spoil of war—but it can still petrify people. Percy congratulates Grover on his bravery, and they carry Medusa's head into the warehouse. They sit around the head for a while, and then Percy asks if they have Athena to thank for Medusa. Irritated, Annabeth says that Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend and that they met in Athena's temple. Athena turned Medusa into a monster, and Medusa probably wanted to turn Percy into a statue because he looks like Poseidon.
Once again, the demigods are the ones who have to deal with the aftermath of their parents' mistakes and relationships—Percy and Annabeth were at risk with Medusa because of something their parents did millennia ago. This shows that even generations after the initial event, families of the gods still have to reckon with the aftereffects. In turn, this makes the familial relationships of the divine even more fraught.
Themes
Percy and Annabeth bicker until Grover points out that they have to do something with the head. Percy feels angry about the quest. He finds Medusa's account books, locates the address for the Underworld—it's in an L.A. recording studio—and fills out a packing slip for the Hermes Overnight Express. He sends the head to the gods at Mount Olympus and ignores Grover's warning that he'll look impertinent. Annabeth says that they need a new plan.
Percy is beginning to understand just how much of a game this is for the gods, and so he makes it clear that he's not willing to just be a pawn. Though sending the head to the gods is risky, it allows Percy to assert his own independence and make it clear that he's his own person, not just Poseidon's son.
Themes
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Source: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-lightning-thief/chapter-11
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