Demigods and Monsters by Rick Riordan Page B

a choice about what we do, but at the same time we are usually making that choice in a situation that we have no power to change.
    The idea of being free to choose what happens to you sure seems simple enough. You choose to do your homework, or to play
a video game. But if you’re a student, do you really have a choice? In one sense you do. You can choose to skip your homework assignment. But if you do choose not to finish that book report due at 9 A.M. tomorrow, you still have to deal with the consequences, those consequences—be they detention or a bad grade—limit your freedom of choice. You definitely have no choice about being a student going to school—your age and your circumstance are not under your control.
    So the situation we are put in—like being in school or being born a half-blood—is something we generally have no ability to change. How we deal with that situation—that’s another story.
    Throughout the Percy Jackson series, time and again, Percy finds himself in dire straits (mostly) not of his own choosing. It’s how he chooses to deal with it that makes his story a real page-turner.
    Percy didn’t choose to be a half-blood. But he does choose to go on all those quests that keep almost getting him killed, right? Take the quest to retrieve Zeus’ lightning bolt: He could have said no. Or could he? Part of the reason he went was to see his mother again; could he really have chosen not to go, given who he is?
    Another question: Sally’s “death” at the hand of the Minotaur on the outskirts of Camp Half-Blood seems unavoidable while it’s happening, but I wonder, was it really?
    There are two ways of looking at Sally’s (apparent) death. There were two possible outcomes to the standoff with the Minotaur: Either Sally would survive and Percy would die, or Sally would die so Percy would live. You could say she chose to sacrifice herself for Percy of her own free will. On the other hand, perhaps the gods put her in that very situation where she would be forced to make that choice, a situation where she had no choice but to act as any mother would, and sacrifice her own life to save her son’s. When you look at it that way, the gods may have been using a mother’s love to propel Percy into a situation where he was forced to go on a quest and do their bidding.

    But why would the gods even bother to lure Percy into their world and make him their own go-to guy?
    The gods have a problem. As Chiron tells us, they can’t cross certain borders or trespass on each other’s realms; heroes, however, can go wherever they want. So when the gods’ squabbles lead them into other gods’ territories, they need heroes to do their dirty work. Heroes are made weapons of the gods, vehicles through which the gods wreak their vengeance. Keeping that in mind, it makes sense that the gods would throw Percy and his mother into a no-win situation if they thought it would motivate Percy to help them out.
    So the gods saved Sally at the last moment in order to motivate Percy, whose love and loyalty to those closest to him underscore almost every crucial decision he makes—whether it be brilliant or disastrous. Does Percy have a choice when it comes to what Athena tells him is his fatal flaw—personal loyalty? All of us have flaws, though maybe all aren’t exactly fatal. Fear, pride, over-optimism, jealousy, greed, a too-trusting heart—these are all flaws I know I’ve glimpsed some in family and friends. (As for myself, I’ll take the Fifth.) The problem is these flaws limit the range of choices we can make, and so the gods can use them to manipulate us.

No One’s Perfect, Especially Not the Greek Gods
    When it comes to flaws, the Greek gods themselves seem to be full of them. Unlike the Egyptians or Babylonians, “the ancient Greeks made the gods in their own image,” Edith Hamilton tells us. And since these gods were