HOMOSEXUALITY AS SEEN in NICO DI ANGELO's CHARACTERISTICS in RICK RIORDAN's the HOUSE of HADES Beserta Perangkat Yang Diperlukan (Bila Ada)

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HOMOSEXUALITY AS SEEN IN NICO DI ANGELO’S CHARACTERISTICS IN RICK RIORDAN’S THE HOUSE OF HADES

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By SHARASWATI Student Number: 144214112

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2018

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HOMOSEXUALITY AS SEEN IN NICO DI ANGELO’S CHARACTERISTICS IN RICK RIORDAN’S THE HOUSE OF HADES

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

By SHARASWATI Student Number: 144214112

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2018

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A Sarj ana Savtra Undergraduate Thesis

HOMOSEXUALITY AS SEEN IN I\UCO DI ANGELO'S CHARACTERISTICS IN RICKRIORDAN'S THE HOUSE OF IADES

Dra. Theresia Ennv Ansgraini- Ph. D. July 19,2018 Advisor

July 19,2018 Co-Advisor

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A Sarjana Sa.stra Undergraduate Thesis

HOMOSEXT'ALITY AS SEEN IN NICO DI ANGELO'S CHARACTERISTICS IN RICK RIORDAN'S ruTE HOUSE OF HADES

By SHARASWATI Student Number: l442l4l 12

Defended before the Board of Examiners on July 26,2A18 and Declared Acceptable

BOARD OF EXAIVIINERS

Name

Chairperson : Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, Plr- D.

Secretary : Dewi Widyastufi, S. Pd., M. Hum.

Member 1 : Dr. Gabriel Fajar Sasmita Aji, M. Hum.

Member 2 : Dra. Theresia Enny Anggraini, Ph. D.

Member 3 : Dewi Widyastuti, S. Pd., M. Hum.

Yogyakarta" July 31, 201 8 Faculty of Leffers

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STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this undergraduate thesis contains no material which has been previously submitted for the award or any other degree at any university, andthat, to the best of my knowledge, this undergraduate thesis contains no material previously written by any other person except where due reference is made in the text ofthe undergraduate thesis

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH

UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya Mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma

Nama :Sharaswati Nomor Mahasiswa : l442l4ll2

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul

HOMOSEXUALITY AS SEEN IN NICO DI ANGELO'S CHARACTERISTICS IN RICK RIORDAN'S THE HOUSE OF HADES beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu memintaizinkepada saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selamatetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal 18 Juli 2018

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“For everyone that’s lost, afraid, hurt or confused, it’s okay. We all are. It’ll take time but we’ll be okay. I promise.”

― Jae from Day6. (@Jae_Day6)

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for my beloved parents, sisters, and dogs

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to thank Jesus Christ for His guidance and blessings.

Without His helping hand, none of this would become possible.

I would like to express my gratitude toward my thesis advisor, Dra.

Theresia Enny Anggraini, Ph.D., for her guidance in helping me finish my thesis.

I would like also thank my thesis co-advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum., for also lending a hand in helping me finish my thesis.

I would like to thank my parents, my mum, Arin Pritawati, for always giving me advice, my dad, Bambang Suyono, for always supporting me. I would like to thank my late sister, Ardaninggar, for simply being a part of the family, and my sister, Bening Warastri, for being a lifetime company. To my friends,

Methodia Kartika Dini, Iman Juniarto Raharjo, Nadia Agatha, and Ratih Melur for their endless support during the time when I wrote my thesis. To Dee and Zhu, my support system when I’m feeling down. I would even like to thank my dogs, Xylo and Chessy, for always keeping me happy and away from stress, especially to

Chessy, who recently left our family to cross the rainbow bridge. She needs to know that we love her forever. Lastly I would like to thank Day6, without whose music I would not be able to stay sane while writing this thesis. Words cannot explain how grateful I am to all of them. I would to thank them for accompanying me in this journey. This is just another beginning.

Sharaswati

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ...... ii APPROVAL PAGE ...... iii ACCEPTANCE PAGE ...... iv STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ...... v LEMBAR PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ILMIAH ...... vi MOTTO PAGE ...... vii DEDICATION PAGE ...... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS...... x ABSTRACT ...... xi ABSTRAK ...... xii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...... 1 A. Background of the Study ...... 1 B. Problem Formulation ...... 3 C. Objectives of the Study ...... 3 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 4 A. Review of Related Studies ...... 4 B. Review of Related Theories ...... 5 1. Theory of Characterization ...... 5 2. Theory of Homosexuality ...... 9 C. Theoretical Framework ...... 13 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ...... 14 A. Objects of the Study ...... 14 B. Approach of the Study ...... 14 C. Method of the Study ...... 15 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ...... 17 A. Nico’s Characteristics ...... 17 B. Nico’s Homosexuality Seen in His Characteristics ...... 25 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...... 39 REFERENCES ...... 44 APPENDICES ...... 45 Appendix 1: Summary of Rick Riordan’s The House of Hades ...... 45 Appendix 2: Rick Riordan’s Short Biography ...... 45

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ABSTRACT

The House of Hades is a novel by Rick Riordan. One of the characters in the story, Nico di Angelo, is revealed to be a homosexual as seen through his characteristics. Homosexual is an increasing problem in contemporary world issues because there are still many who contemplate whether to openly accept it or not. There are two problem formulation in this study. The first is to describe Nico di Angelo’s characteristics. M. J. Murphy’s theory of characterization is applied to describe Nico di Angelo’s characteristics. The second is to see his homosexuality through his characteristics.Writer uses the theory of homosexual to see Nico di Angelo’s homosexuality through his characteristics.

Library research is used to analyse the object of the study. The data collected are from a novel titled The House of Hades. The other books and articles are also used to help the writer to analyze the study into further analysis to answer the problems mentioned above.

There are five characteristics of Nico di Angelo’s found in The House of Hades. They are grim, neurotic, passive, self-hating, and introverted. Nico di Angelo is discovered to have four personality traits that shows his homosexuality, which are feelings of insecurity, withdrawal and passivity, self-hate, and neuroticism, those personality traits are what Nico has in his characteristics, so Nico is indeed a homosexual and Nico shows his homosexuality through his characteristics. Nico’s insecurity and neuroticism also lead to his showing paranoia traits, he is paranoid of coming out. Nico’s introverted characteristic and grim characteristic show Nico’s type of homosexual in which Nico is revealed to be a secretive homosexual and blatant homosexual. Nico’s passive characteristic shows Nico’s being a homophile. Someone can show his or her homosexuality through his or her characteristics and be paranoid of coming out. From Nico’s case it is shown that a homosexual has many characteristics that can be possessed by people other than homosexuals but can be used to show his or her homosexuality instead.

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ABSTRAK

SHARASWATI. (2018) Homosexuality as Seen in Nico di Angelo’s Characteristics in Rick Riordan’s The House of Hades. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Sanata Dharma. The House of Hades adalah novel karya Rick Riordan. Salah seorang karakter di dalam novel tersebut, Nico di Angelo, terungkap sebagai seorang homoseksual dilihat dari karakteristiknya. Homoseksualitas adalah sebuah masalah yang terus meningkat dalam isu kontemporer dunia karena masih banyak orang mempertimbangkan homoseksualitas sebagai suatu hal yang dapat diterima secara terbuka atau tidak. Ada dua pokok permasalahan di studi ini. Masalah pertama yaitu mendeskripsikan karakteristik Nico di Angelo. Teori karakterisasi oleh M.J Murphy diaplikasikan untuk mendeskripsikannya. Masalah kedua adalah melihat kehomoseksualitasan Nico di Angelo lewat karakteristiknya. Teori homoseksualitas diaplikasikan untuk melihat kehomoseksualitasan Nico di Angelo lewat karakteristiknya. Studi pustaka digunakan untuk menganalisis objek penelitian ini. Data yang diambil merupakan data yang terkumpul dari novel The House of Hades. Buku dan artikel yang lain juga digunakan untuk menganalisa penelitian ini ke analisis lebih lanjut untuk menjawab masalah-masalah yang disebutkan diatas. Terdapat lima karakteristik Nico di Angelo yang ditemukan di The House of Hades. Lima karateristik tersebut adalah suram, emosi cepat terganggu, pasif, benci diri sendiri, seorang introvert. Nico di Angelo terungkap mempunyai empat sifat-sifat khas, yaitu perasaan tidak aman, kemunduran dan kepasifan, benci diri sendiri, dan neurosis, sifat-sifat khas tersebut dimiliki Nico di karakteristiknya, maka dapat dipastikan Nico merupakan seorang homoseksual. Perasaan tidak aman dan neurosis Nico juga menunjukkan ketakutan Nico akan mengakui jati dirinya. Nico yang seorang introvert dan suram mengungkapkan bahwa dia homoseksual rahasia dan homoseksual yang terang-terangan. Nico yang pasif menunjukkan Nico yang adalah seorang homofil. Seseorang dapat menunjukkan kehomoseksualitasannya lewat karakteristiknya dan merasa takut akan mengakui jati dirinya. Dari kasus Nico, dapat dilihat bahwa seorang homoseksual mempunyai karakteristik yang dapat dimiliki orang selain homoseksual pada umumnya, tetapi karakteristik tersebut dapat digunakan untuk menunjukkan kehomoseksualitasannya.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

One of the contemporary world issues nowadays is homosexuality. In

Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, James C. Coleman (1976) states that homosexuality is a behavior directed to someone with the same sex. It means that homosexuality is a situation where a person is attracted to those from the same sex and the person is therefore called a homosexual.

Most psychiatrists and psychologists believe that a human has bisexual elements in his/her nature. When the bisexual feelings are particularly intense, the condition is described as homosexuality (Stone and Stone, 1966, p. 319). A woman with homosexuality is usually called lesbian meanwhile a man is called gay. Homosexuality used to be seen as a mental illness until the heterosexuals helped them by eliminating homosexuality as a mental illness in Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Stewart, 2003, p. x).

Most homosexuals still struggle against their homosexual feelings therefore they repress and hide their feelings, causing internalized homophobia (Stewart,

2003, p. ix). In later 19th century sexual acts between men were no longer seen as incidental, meaning to say homosexual acts were not something anyone might have under certain circumstances, but as expressions of their identity (Foucault as cited in Bertens, 2008, p. 183). This is why homosexuality has become an increasing problem in contemporary world issues. It is because many are still contemplating whether to openly accept homosexuality or not.

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Another writer who shows homosexuality in his works is Rick Riordan. One of his characters, Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades, is a homosexual. Nico di

Angelo is the character that this study is going to discuss about. Riordan reveals that Nico di Angelo is a homosexual in his book, The House of Hades, which is going to be used in this research. Nico di Angelo himself is described as a teenager who had a crush on his friend from the same sex.

In homosexuality, there is a term called homophile. Homophile (the criterion of falling in love with those of the same sex) was one of the terms that was proposed along with homogenic (criterion of attracted to those of the same sex), however, the term homosexual won the day probably because it was taken up in early twentieth century by Havelock Ellis (1942) and Magnus Hirschfield (1948)

(McWhirter et al, 1990, p. 41). Homophile is a term where two people from the same sex are not sexually attracted but are emotionally attracted to each other.

In Nico di Angelo’s case, it is more of a homophile situation that is happening to him. When most literary works that involve homosexuality in it tell about how two people of the same sex are sexually attracted to the point that they have sexual intercourse, Nico’s is more of how he falls in love with those of the same sex. He is not sexually attracted to people from the same sex to the point that they have sexual intercourse. He is only emotionally attracted.

It is quite interesting to investigate contemporary world issues in today’s literary works. Writer is interested in finding out how homosexuality is pictured in a story that does not tell about two people of the same sex are sexually attracted, but about someone who falls in love with those of the same sex

(homophile). To focus on one character with homosexuality not only will give an

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example of homosexuality, but it will also set the reader in that character’s shoes as a homosexual.

B. Problem Formulation

1. How are Nico di Angelo’s characteristics described?

2. How do Nico’s characteristics show his homosexuality?

C. Objectives of the Study

Based on the problem formulation, there are two research objectives in this study. The first one is to describe Nico di Angelo’s characteristics. The second is to see how Nico’s characteristics show his homosexuality.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A. Review of Related Studies

The first related study is an undergraduate thesis written by Ineke Sandra

Cahyadi in 2003, titled “David’s Homosexuality: A Psychological Study on the

Factors and His Character Development in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room”.

In her thesis, Cahyadi tries to analyze David’s homosexuality in Baldwin’s

Giovanni’s Room. Cahyadi tries to describe David’s personality as a homosexual and categorized the type of homosexual David belongs to. Cahyadi also tries to find the factors which make David become a homosexual. Lastly, Cahyadi tries to show how David’s character as a homosexual develops.

The results of Cahyadi’s analysis are: David is a homosexual, Cahyadi proves it by looking at David’s past life, his reaction, his thought, and his mannerism. Cahyadi later categorizes David in the “bisexual” type, means that he has both interests in men and women. The factors that influence David’s homosexuality according to her analysis are his early homosexual experience, traumatic social experience, family and environment issues. In the end, David’s homosexuality develops to bisexuality.

The second related study is an undergraduate thesis written by Helga Larissa

Charity Koraag in 2017, titled “The Causal Factors of Otoko’s Homosexuality as seen in Yasunari Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness”. In the thesis, Koraag tries to reveal the main character’s sexual pattern from its characterization and to find out the causal factors for the main character’s homosexuality.

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Koraag finds out that the main character’s sexual pattern changes from heterosexual to homosexual. The causal factors that cause the main character to change her sexuality according to Koraag’s analysis are a bad conditioning of heterosexual behavior and homosexual experiences and its positive reinforcement. Koraag finds that there are self-defense mechanisms the main character used during her struggle in coping with her trauma in her past heterosexual relationship. Koraag also finds out that the representation of the main character’s trauma through her dreams is the impact of her traumatic experiences. Koraag’s last finding is the positive reinforcement of the main character’s homosexual experience in which the main character meets biological and emotional needs from her homosexual experience.

The writer’s study also studies about homosexuals and it is quite similar to the first and second related studies. Writer discusses about how Nico di Angelo shows his homosexuality as seen through his characteristics, while the first study discusses about David’s personality as a homosexual and David’s sexuality development and the second study discusses about Otoko’s sexual pattern a seen through the charateristics. The writer finds the answer by looking at psychological point of view in Nico di Angelo’s character as a homosexual.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Characterization

Characterization is a way an author describes to the reader the characters and the personalities of the characters, in other way, how the author describes to the reader what sort of people the characters are, how the author makes the reader

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know and understand them (Murphy, 1972, p. 161). An author can, as far as the characters in the novel are concerned, get into the thoughts of the person, this is something the reader cannot do (Murphy, 1972, p. 161). Meaning to say, an author has the audacity to penetrate into a character’s mind and tell what is on his or her mind. Murphy proposes nine ways an author attempts to reveal his/her characters’ characteristics, they are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comment, thoughts, and mannerisms.

a. Personal description

The author describes a person’s appearance and clothes. The description relates to a person’s physical appearance because that can lead to his or her personality. Physical appearance like clothes a character is wearing can tell so much about their personality. For example, If a character is wearing pink from head to toe, it can be concluded that he or she loves the color pink a lot.

b. Character as seen by another

The author describes the character through the perspectives of other characters. One’s characteristic can be figured out through what other characters say about him or her. For example, character A sees and describes character B’s being anxious over upcoming event. From this, it can be concluded that character

B is easily getting anxious when something is about to occur soon.

c. Speech

The author gives the readers an insight into the character of one of the persons in the book through what that person says. Whenever one character

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speaks, it can give the readers clue about his or her characteristics. For example, a character is talking about how people who throw trash recklessly are annoying. It can be concluded that this character hates people who throw trash recklessly.

d. Past life

The author gives readers a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character. A person’s characteristics can be figured out through the events s/he has been through in the story. For example, the author may write about how in the past, a character was bullied so he or she now is having a trauma due to the bullying.

e. Conversation of others

The author gives readers clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about him or her. For example, character A and character B are talking about how character C always tries to force his or her opinion to be accepted into the discussion. From that it can be concluded that character C always forces his or her will against others.

f. Reactions

The author gives readers a clue to a person’s character by letting them know how that person reacts to various situations and events. Through this, a person’s characteristics can be seen as his or her reaction towards something reflects the personality. For example, a character shows anger whenever he or she is faced with trouble. Therefore, it can be assumed that this character is always angry when he or she is having a trouble.

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g. Direct comment

The author describes or comments on a person’s character directly. Meaning to say the author describes a person’s characteristic and personality directly in the story. For example, the author would explain character A as someone who is never late when it comes to attending an appointment. Therefore it can be concluded that character A is always on time.

h. Thoughts

The author gives readers direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. Through a person’s thoughts, readers can see his or her personality. For example, the author writes character A’s thought about how he or she always curses inside his or her mind whenever someone is smoking nearby. It can be concluded that character A hates people who smoke.

i. Mannerisms

The author describes a person’s mannerisms, habits, or idiosyncrasies which may also tell the readers something about the character. For example, a character always bites his or her nails when he or she is nervous about something that is not really a big deal. From this it can be concluded that this character easily gets nervous.

Those theories of characterization above are going to be used to analyze

Nico di Angelo’s characteristics in the story. There are four theories which are mainly used in analyzing Nico, they are theory of personal description, theory of character as seen by another, theory of speech, and theory of reactions. Writer

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only uses those because those are the ones that describe Nico’s characteristics as a homosexual.

2. Theory of Homosexuality

Homosexual derives from the Latin word homo, it means man. Another etymology for the word homosexual is the Greek word homo which means “the same” or “of like kind”. In Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life, James C.

Coleman writes “Homosexual behavior is sexual behavior directed toward a member of one’s own sex;”. This means that a male is attracted to another male instead of those from the opposite sex. The same also goes to females. Most parts of the society does not think that homosexuality is acceptable. Even until now, homosexuality is seen as something sinful.

Homosexuals may be categorized as part of the minorities. Allport (1954) as cited by Gonsiorek in D’Augelli and Patterson’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual

Identities Over the Lifespan examines the nature and effects of stereotyping and prejudice. Allport theorizes the characteristics that develop in those who are parts of those who experience stereotyping and prejudice and describes them as coping mechanisms which eventually can become relatively stable personality traits.

These traits due to victimization he believed were common in most persecuted groups. They include: excessive concern and preoccupation with minority or deviant group membership, feelings of insecurity, denial of membership in the group, withdrawal and passivity, self-derision, strong in- group ties coupled with prejudice against out groups, slyness and cunning, self-hate, aggression against one's own group, militancy, enhanced striving, neuroticism, and acting out self-fulfulling prophecies about one's own inferiority. (D’Augelli and Patterson, 1995, p. 28-29)

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This analysis is actually developed by Allport by observing Blacks and Jews.

There are no homosexuals in this observation yet the personality traits he describes are parallel with the descriptions of personality characteristics the psychoanalytic writers describe as inherent and pathological features of homosexuals (D’Augelli and Patterson, 1995, p. 29). Meaning to say that homosexuals may have the personality traits above because even though they are not parts of Blacks and Jews, the personality traits are parallel with those from the personality characteristics and features of homosexuals. The personality traits stated by Allport above can be used to identify a homosexual.

There are homosexuals who for various reasons conceal their homosexuality.

This may cause repressed homosexuality. According to Freud as cited in Rosario

(2002), repressed homosexuality manifests a paranoia. There is not any homosexuals who do not show paranoia traits, homosexuals with paranoia traits will come off as oversuspicious, “shadowy”, and mistrustful, this behavior is caused by the civilization where homosexuals are treated as outcasts (Brill as cited in Rosario, 2002, p. 94).

Homophile. There is a term called homophile in homosexuality. According to

Pickett (2009) in The A to Z of Homosexuality: The A to Z Guide Series, homophile does not focus on the carnal aspects of the same-sex attraction. The term was derived from Greek homo (same) and philia (love of). This term was created by Jaap van Leeuwen in 1950. Homophile focuses on the role of emotional, romantic, and social bonds. The use of term homophile is to avoid the common negative stereotype of homosexuals as persons with insufficient control

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of their libidos or persons who made ill by sexual pathology (Pickett, 2009, p. 90-

91).

Types of homosexuals. According to Jim Smith (1983) in his book Abnormal

Behaviors: Outlined Reference, there are six types of homosexuals, which are: a. Blatant homosexuals

Blatant homosexuals are homosexuals who fit the stereotypes of homosexuals as made by the society. In the case of males, males can show a characteristic of femininity. There are also the ‘leather boys’ who advertise their sado-masochistic homosexuality by wearing leather jackets, chains, and boots.

The ‘TVs’ or transvestites enjoy wearing clothes and assuming the behavior of the opposite sex. b. Desperate homosexuals

Desperate homosexuals are homosexuals who tend to haunt public toilets

(“tearooms”) or steambaths. They apparently are driven to homosexual behavior but unable to face the strains of establishing serious relationships to practice homosexuality. They are in desperate need of a driven sexual behavior towards the same sex therefore they usually are in public toilets or public bathhouse where they can see those of the same sex. However they do not want to establish a serious homosexual relationship. c. Secret homosexuals

This type of homosexual is in all class and races. They tend to hold the positions they are trying to protect by concealing their homosexuality. They get married, wear wedding rings, and have spouses and employers who do not know

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about their double lives. Only a few close friends, lovers, and therapists who know about their homosexuality. d. Situational homosexuals

These individuals engage a homosexual behavior without any deep commitment to it. For example, both males and females in prisons and institutions engage in homosexual acts but then they resume heterosexual relationships afterwards. They only seek for homosexual pleasures when they are trapped in the same room with those from the same sex. However it is only temporary, they will go back to being heterosexuals afterwards. e. Bisexuals

These individuals engage in both homosexual and heterosexual practices. A lot of “desperate” homosexuals can fit into this category. A male can develop a homosexual behavior towards another male but he also can develop a heterosexual behavior towards a female. The same goes with female. f. Adjusted homosexuals

This type of homosexuals accepts their homosexuality. They fulfill responsible social roles and associate with the gay community. Many of them establish an intimate and stable relationship with one another. This type is more common among lesbians than male homosexuals, the pattern is by no means exclusive to lesbians.

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C. Theoretical Framework

There are two problems that the writer tries to solve in this study. The writer uses the theories explained in the review of related theories to analyze the problems.

The first theory used is M. J. Murphy’s theory of characterization. This theory is used to answer the first problem which is discussing Nico di Angelo’s characteristics. The first problem is answered by analyzing Nico’s characteristics in the story by applying M. J. Murphy’s theory of characterization. The theory is needed in order to describe Nico’s characteristics. Later the characteristics are used as leads to see Nico’s homosexuality.

As the characteristics of Nico are found, the second problem is then answered by looking back at Nico’s characteristics in the first problem and determining how Nico’s homosexuality is shown with the theory of homosexuality. The theory is used in order to relate Nico’s characteristics with his homosexuality, to see how both of them are affiliated with each other.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is the novel The House of Hades written by Rick

Riordan, a New York Times #1 best-selling author. Riordan is very famous for his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and afterwards he continues the series with Heroes of Olympus series, and The House of Hades is a part of the

Heroes of Olympus series. In The House of Hades, the story tells about Percy and

Annabeth who fall into Tartarus, and the other demigods, Jason, Piper, Leo,

Hazel, Frank, and Nico, try to save Percy and Annabeth and go to House of

Hades to run on a mission to rescue Percy and Annabeth. In the story later,

Riordan reveals that Nico di Angelo, one of the demigods who go on a mission, is a homosexual. This study analyzes how Nico’s character as a homosexual is shown in the story.

The writer wants to analyze Nico di Angelo because in the story, he only falls in love with his friend of the same sex, he does not have any sexual attraction towards his friend, like how most homosexuals are told in other literary works. That is why the writer is interested in analyzing Nico di Angelo.

B. Approach of the Study

To analyze the problems in this study, writer uses psychological approach.

Psychology can be defined as the understanding of mental and emotional processes (Pope, 2002, p. 96). Meaning to say that psychological approach is

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trying to understand the mental and emotional processes of a person. In literature, psychology is focusing on the character’s mind. Furthermore, sexuality is a part of human’s mind, therefore, sexuality is a part, an aspect of psychology.

A psychological approach is applied because this study deals with the sexuality of a character. Sexuality or sexual orientation has been an aspect of psychological study of human diversity, an understanding of this matter will enhance psychological research and practice to reduce heterosexist bias among people (Garnets & Kimmel, 2003, p. 1). The writer finds it best to analyze the character through psychological approach because the study deals with the character’s sexuality.

B. Method of the Study

In doing this research, the writer used library research method. When writer used library research method meant that the writer collected and read books and sources which were related to this study. The writer also downloaded books and sources that might help in conducting this research. Writer also collected data from the novel and supporting books for the research. The data consisted of primary data and secondary data. The primary data was the novel itself. The secondary data were the supporting books to help analyzing this study.

Based on the problem formulation, there were four steps which the writer used to do this research. The first step of this research was to collect data from the novel in order to conduct the analysis by collecting sentences and speeches which are related to or spoken by Nico di Angelo in the story.

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The second step is to analyze Nico di Angelo’s characteristics as seen from the data collected. M. J. Murphy’s theory of characterization was used in this step. The purpose of this step was to find out Nico di Angelo’s characteristics.

Nico di Angelo’s characteristics were found out by applying M. J. Murphy’s theory of characterization on the data collected.

The third step was to analyze Nico di Angelo’s homosexuality through his characteristics. After the characteristics had been found out, the writer looked at the characteristics again to determine Nico’s homosexuality by determining it through the theory on homosexuality writer had.

The last step was to draw a conclusion from the analysis. To draw conclusion, all data in the analysis were conducted and represented in statements.

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

A. Nico’s Characteristics

Characterization is a way an author conveys a character’s personalities, it is how the author conveys what kind of person a character is (Murphy, 1972, p.

161). M.J. Murphy proposes nine theories of characterization, which are personal description, character as seen by another, speech, past life, conversation of others, reactions, direct comments, thoughts, and mannerisms. In this topic, Nico’s characteristics are going to be described by applying Murphy’s theories of characterization.

1. Grim

To analyze Nico’s grim characteristic, writer uses Murphy’s theories of characterization which are character as seen by another and personal description.

Theory of character as seen by another is knowing one’s characteristic through what the person is seen in front of other characters, meanwhile theory of personal description is a way an author describes one’s personal appearance. “Hazel might have been the one who came back from the dead, but Nico was way more ghostlike.” (Riordan, 2013, p. 122) The quotation is a character description done by other character in the story, which means a theory of character as seen by another is applied. Nico and Hazel are both the children of Hades. While Hazel is resurrected, Nico is kept alive in Lotus Hotel and Casino, a place that traps its visitors forever inside without aging, for about seventy years alongside with his late sister, Bianca. Even though Nico is alive for that long while Hazel is

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resurrected, Nico looks way more ghost-like than Hazel. His ghost-like aura gives a darker vibe to those around him.

Then there was Hazel’s half brother, Nico di Angelo. Dang, that kid gave Leo the freaky-deakies. He sat back in his leather aviator jacket, his black T-shirt and jeans, that wicked silver skull ring on his finger, and the Stygian sword at his side. His tufts of black hair stuck up in curls like baby bat wings. His eyes were sad and kind of empty, as if he’d stared into the depths of Tartarus—which he had. (Riordan, 2013, p. 67)

In the quotation above, a theory of character as seen by another and personal description are applied. Leo, a character in the story, feels strange and weird whenever he sees Nico. A personal description about Nico’s physical appearance is added by the author. Aside from his being Hades’ son, which probably one of the reasons why he dresses like that, Nico really likes dressing in monochrome.

Nico also always looks like he only has two emotions, sad and no emotion at all, that is the reason why his eyes looked hollow. Nico’s physical appearance and eyes give Leo the weird feeling he has whenever he looks at Nico.

Having Nico along was not reassuring. His Stygian iron blade seemed to make the shadows even gloomier, as if the infernal metal was drawing the light and heat out of the air. (Riordan, 2013, p. 275)

A theory of character as seen by another is applied on the quotation above.

Just like Leo, Jason always has this weird feeling whenever he sees or is with

Nico. To Jason, Nico is creepy, what with his appearance and his choice in weapon. Nico’s presence is not reassuring because he makes the situation gloomier with his appearance featuring his Stygian iron blade. It is as if the blade itself takes the light and heat out of the air.

He stepped forward, his dark eyes fixed on Jason. Since they’d rescued him from the bronze jar in Rome, Nico had slept very little and eaten even less, as if he were still subsisting on those emergency pomegranate seeds

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from the Underworld. He reminded Jason a little too much of a flesh-eating ghoul he’d once fought in San Bernardino. (Riordan, 2013, p. 264)

In the quotation above, Nico’s grim characteristic is seen by another character, Jason. Nico has a lot in his mind after he is back from the bronze jar in

Rome, which makes him sleep and eat lesser than he usually does. Nico’s lack of sleep and eat makes his appearance look like a ghoul according to Jason. A ghoul is a creature that feeds on dead bodies. Due to his lack of sleep and eat, Nico probably looks thinner and paler, which makes Jason think Nico looks like a ghoul.

2. Neurotic

To analyze this characteristic, the writer uses the theory of reactions. Theory of reactions is when an author describes one’s reaction towards something. In this case, Nico is pressed by some things, he cannot hide his emotions, he cannot hide himself being bewildered by those things, he becomes anxious. Due to being anxious, he tends to be obvious about what he is actually feeling. He also spits out things directly. “Nico turned even paler than usual. His eyes darted around the cavernous room as if he was starting to feel trapped.” (Riordan, 2013, p. 278).

In the quotation, Nico’s easily getting nervous characteristic is shown in his reaction when enters the cavernous room. How he shows his reaction toward entering the cavernous room explains much about how he is easily flustered. He starts to show more emotions than usual, it can be seen from his eyes. His eyes start wandering around as if he is claustrophobic, as if the room is trapping him.

Nico didn’t look convinced, In fact, he looked like he was going to be sick. But he squared his shoulders and nodded. “You’re right. I—I’m not afraid of a love god.” (Riordan, 2013, p. 280)

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Again, Nico’s easily getting nervous characteristic is shown in his reaction when he is about to meet the love god. Nico, in fact, knows what the love god,

Cupid, is going to say when he meets him. Cupid knows the person whom Nico likes and tries to use the person to trigger Nico. As mentioned before, Nico tends to show more emotions than usual when he is bewildered. He looks like he is going to get sick due to the stress of meeting someone he does not want to meet.

However, as seen in the quotation, he still tries to conceal his actual emotion by standing up straight and telling the others that he is not afraid.

Tell him, Nico di Angelo, Cupid said. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone. Nico let loose a guttural scream. The ground at his feet split open and skeletons crawled forth–dead Romans with missing hands and caved-in skulls, cracked ribs, and jaws unhinged. Some were dressed in the remnants off their chests. (Riordan, 2013, p. 289)

In the quotation above, Nico shows another reaction of his neurotic characteristic because he is pressed by the Cupid. Since Cupid knows the person whom Nico likes, it is easier to trigger Nico because Nico’s feelings toward his crush is the reason Nico runs away from everything. He is confused and he does not know what to do when he is pressed like that. He starts to channel his confusion to his anger, resulting him summoning dead Roman bodies from the underground.

3. Passive

To analyze this characteristic, writer uses theory of character as seen by another. Just like its name, a character’s characteristic is seen by another character in the story thus Nico’s characteristic is seen through other characters

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around him. Other characters from the novel are responsible for determining

Nico’s passive characteristic.

“La Casa Nera,” he read. “Calle Frezzeria.” “The Black House,” Nico di Angelo translated.” “Calle Frezzeria is the street.” Frank tried not to flinch when he realized Nico was at his shoulder. The guy was so quiet and brooding, he almost seemed to dematerialize when he wasn’t speaking. (Riordan, 2013, p. 121-122)

The quotation above is Nico’s characteristic as seen by Frank Zhang. Frank does not realize Nico is near him until Nico spoke. Nico has this habit of not talking that much, he is always so quiet. When Nico does not speak at all, he does not seem to have an existence. He prefers to stay quiet and to not speak more than needed, this shows Nico’s passivity. Nico does not feel the need to talk even about things that are not personal to people around him. So when Nico speaks all of the sudden, Frank almost flinches because he does not know the fact that Nico is near him.

“Dalmatia,” Nico said, making Jason jump. Holly Romulus. . . Jason wished he could put a bell around Nico di Angelo’s neck to remind him the guy was there. Nico had this disturbing habit of standing silently in the corner, blending into the shadows. (Riordan, 2013, p. 264)

From the quotation above, it can be seen that Jason is surprised when Nico appears all of the sudden. As it is said before, Nico never speaks more than needed. Nico probably really loves staying in the shadows, making himself invisible to people around him. He also really loves standing in the corner silently. He makes people feel the need to have a warning that he exists.

Tell him, Nico di Angelo, Cupid said. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone.

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Will you hide among the dead, as you always do? Cupid taunted. (Riordan, 2013, p. 289)

Here Cupid states that Nico always hides, keeps himself away from people.

In the quotation, the situation is when Cupid threatens Nico and uses Nico’s crush against him. From what Cupid sees, Nico runs away from everything and stays mute and passive due to his feelings toward his crush. Nico does not want to face the music because Nico is too afraid. Since Nico is afraid of himself, he is also afraid that other people might be afraid of him once they know Nico’s secret crush. That is the sole reason Nico prefers to run away and not to be open to people about his feelings.

4. Insecure and Self-Hating

To analyze this characteristic, theory of speech and reactions is used. The theory of speech is to see a character’s characteristics based on what the character is saying. Meanwhile the theory of reactions is to see Nico’s characteristic based on his reactions toward something.

“I had a crush on Percy,” Nico spat. “That’s the truth. That’s the big secret.” He glared at Cupid. “Happy now?” Nico knelt and picked it up. He regarded Jason, as if waiting for an attack. “If the others found out–” “If the others found out,” Jason said, “you’d have that many more people to back you up, and to unleash the fury of the gods on anybody who gives you trouble. Nico scowled. Jason still felt the resentment and anger rippling off him. (Riordan, 2013, p. 292)

After Nico admits that he likes Percy, he is insecure already of how Jason is going to react. He basically waits for Jason to attack him. Nico actually does not want people to find out about his secret crush. He feels like everyone is going to judge him. Jason, on the other hand, tries to reassure Nico that everything will be

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fine. Nico still does not believe Jason, he scowls instead. Nico is angry of himself because he likes Percy and he finally admits that he likes Percy.

Nico’s mouth twisted in a sneer. “Really? That would be a first. I’m the son of Hades, Jason. I might as well be covered in blood or sewage, the way people treat me. I don’t belong anywhere. I’m not even from this century. But even that’s not enough to set me apart. I’ve got to be–to be–” “Dude! It’s not like you’ve got a choice. It’s just who you are.” “Just who I am . . .” The balcony trembled. Patterns shifted in the stone floor. Like bones coming to the surface. “Easy for you to say. You’re everybody’s golden boy, the son of Jupiter. The only person who ever accepted me was Bianca, and she died! I didn’t choose any of this. My father, my feelings . . .” (Riordan, 2013, p. 428)

From the quotation it can be concluded that Nico hates himself for who he is.

He feels that because of his feelings, he does not belong anywhere. He is also jealous of Jason for being the son of Jupiter (or Zeus). No matter what Jason does, no matter what Jason feels, Nico thinks that it will come off okay because

Jason is the golden boy. Nico is already misunderstood as the son of Hades, he does not think that people will accept him and his feelings. He hates himself for who he is, for his identity. He burdens himself with the thought that everyone who from his perspective is good enough will be accepted in the society but not him. This insecurity keeps Nico from coming out.

5. Introverted

To analyze this characteristic, theory of character as seen by another is used.

Nico’s introverted characteristic is seen through the perspective of other character.

Still . . . Jason didn’t get why Nico pushed people away, why he never spent much time at either camp, why he preferred the dead to the living. He really didn’t get why Nico had promised to lead the Argo II to Epirus if he hated Percy Jackson so much. (Riordan, 2013, p. 273)

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From the quotation above, Nico’s introverted characteristic can be analyzed.

Nico always spends his time alone outside of camp. He is friends with a ghost.

Nico seems to hate everyone, he pushes people away, but he seems to hate Percy

Jackson the most. Jason does not get why Nico pushes people away but still wants to help his camp friends on their quest, even when the quest is saving Percy and Annabeth from Tartarus. It seems like there was a particular reason that Nico hides from the others when he decides to help his camp friends on the quest.

However, one can never actually know the reason behind it.

She thought about what the arai had said–how Nico di Angelo had been the only person to visit Bob in the palace of the Underworld. Nico was one of the least outgoing, least friendly demigods Annabeth knew. Yet he’d been kind to Bob. By convincing Bob that Percy was a friend, Nico had inadvertently saved their lives. Annabeth wondered if she would ever figure that guy out. (Riordan, 2013, p. 307)

The quotation above once again shows Nico’s introverted characteristic from the perspective of Annabeth Chase. Nico is known for being the quiet, least friendly demigod to everyone. However, when Bob the titan is at the Underworld,

Nico seems to be nice to him. It is very rare of him to do so. Nico always seems like he does not need anyone and does not want to be friendly to anyone. Nico hates Percy but he convinces the titan that Percy is a friend of his so that Bob will not be any dangerous to Percy. He wants to make sure that Percy does no harm to

Bob. People around Nico feel like they can never figure Nico out. It really seems like most of the time Nico looks like he does not want anyone to be his friend, he is always uptight and closed.

Nico tied the ends of the ropes together, making a halter. “You got me out of that bronze jar in Rome. Saved my life yet again. It was the least I could do.”

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His voice was steely, guarded. Percy wished he could figure out what made this guy tick, but he’d never been able to. Nico was no longer the geeky kid from Westover Hall with the Mythomagic cards. Nor was he the angry loner who’d followed the ghost of Minos through the Labyrinth. But who was he? (Riordan, 2013, p. 579)

Nico’s introverted characteristic in the quotation above is seen through another character’s perspective, Percy Jackson. Nico hides his true feelings really well, he conceals it through how he acts toward others. He tries his best not to reveal his feelings toward Percy through his tone of speaking. Long time ago,

Nico was this kid who was always excited with his collection of Mythomagic cards. He used to show his emotions just fine. However as time goes by, Nico changes. He becomes quieter and more mysterious. He becomes more introverted. There are so many secrets he decides to keep to himself. Introverts never talk much about what is going on with their lives, so does Nico. No one can ever figure out what can please him. He is no longer someone his friends know, he is no longer the geek with his cards collection and he is no longer the angry loner who hangs out with ghosts. He is now someone who is introverted, who always keeps things to himself and never shares personal problems like how he has a crush on Percy with just anyone.

B. Nico’s Homosexuality through His Characteristics

This subtopic answers the second problem formulation which is about how

Nico’s homosexuality is shown through his characteristics. This subtopic has a purpose to prove that Nico’s characteristics show his homosexuality.

As it is mentioned in the theory of homosexuality, Allport (1954) as cited by

Gonsiorek in Augelli and Patterson (1995) examines the personality traits of

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those who experience stereotyping and prejudice from the society, like Blacks and Jews. Although his experiment does not include homosexuals, the personality traits are of those features that several psychoanalytic writers describe as the inherent and pathological features of homosexuals. Meaning to say, those personality traits can also be possessed by homosexuals because the personality traits are said to be parallel with homosexuals’ features. Those features are excessive concern and preoccupation with minority or deviant group membership, feelings of insecurity, denial of membership in the group, withdrawal and passivity, self-derision, strong in-group ties coupled with prejudice against out groups, slyness and cunning, self-hate, aggression against one's own group, militancy, enhanced striving, neuroticism, and acting out self- fulfilling prophecies about one's own inferiority. Nico shows four of these features in his characteristics. Those features are feelings of insecurity, passivity, self-hate, and neuroticism. The features that he has strengthen the fact that he is a homosexual because those features are possessed by those who are parts of those who experience stereotyping and prejudice made by the society and homosexuals are basically included.

Nico’s Feelings of Insecurity and Self-Hate. ““I don’t have friends!” Nico yelled. “I left Camp Half-Blood because I don’t belong! I’ll never belong!””

(Riordan, 2013, p. 291). This quotation shows Nico’s insecurity. He knows he is different from the others. Nico feels like he does not belong in Camp Half-Blood or anywhere near his crush because his crush is Percy, a friend of his from the same sex, not from the opposite sex (Riordan, 2013, p. 292). He knows he is not like any other boys, he does not feel as normal as others. Therefore he feels like

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he would never belong in any groups. He also feels like he does not have any friends who are there for him. Nico’s sense of not belonging to any groups makes him feel insecure.

“I don’t feel that way anymore,” Nico muttered. “I mean . . . I gave up on Percy. I was young and impressionable, and I–I don’t . . .” His voice cracked, and Jason could tell the guy was about to get teary- eyed. Whether Nico had really given up on Percy or not, Jason couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Nico all those years, keeping a secret that would’ve been unthinkable to share in the 1940s, denying who he was, feeling completely alone–even more isolated than other demigods. (Riordan, 2013, p. 293)

Nico keeps the secret of his having a crush on Percy from the others. He is probably insecure of what other people might think of him. Since Nico is someone who was born in 1930-1940s, he does not think that being who he is right now at that time would be accepted. When he comes back seventy years later after being trapped in Lotus Hotel and Casino, he still has that mindset. He still thinks that people will not accept him for who he is. Therefore, he runs away, he withdraws himself from the society, he isolates himself. Because of his having a crush on Percy and his having a mindset that no one will never accept him for the way he is, he runs away and stays alone. He rather becomes introverted than opening up and coming out to people around him.

““I hated myself,” Nico said. “I hated Percy Jackson.”” (Riordan, 2013, p.

291). Nico admits that he has a crush on Percy yet he hates himself for being that

way. Due to his insecurity about his sense of not belonging anywhere because of

his having a crush on Percy, he hates himself for having a crush on Percy

Jackson. Not only that he tries to deny his feelings for Percy by saying that he

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hates him, he also expresses self-hate towards himself. He is terrified of himself,

of his own feelings (Riordan, 2013, p. 289).

“Look, Nico,” he said, “I’m here if you want to talk about, you know, what happened in Croatia. I get how difficult– ” “You don’t get anything.” “Nobody’s going to judge you.” Nico’s mouth twisted in a sneer. “Really? That would be the first. I’m the son of Hades, Jason. I might as well be covered in blood or sewage, the way people treat me. I don’t belong anywhere. I’m not even from this century. But even that’s not enough to set me apart. I’ve got to be–to be–” “Dude! It’s not like you’ve got a choice. It’s just who you are.” “Just who I am . . .” The balcony trembled. (Riordan, 2013, p. 428)

After the Croatia incident where Nico is revealed to have a crush on Percy,

Jason tries to make him open up. He shows his insecurity when Jason tells him that nobody is going to judge Nico for who he is. He feels that way because all his life, he is already misjudged for being the son of Hades, the infamous god. He is sure no one is going to understand what and how he feels right now about

Percy. Nico hates himself for who he is, for feeling like he does not belong anywhere not even in the century he was in now, for having a crush on Percy.

Nico does not think that everything that he is right now is accepted by everyone.

He thinks that he can never be accepted. All of these show Nico’s insecurity and self-hate toward himself.

“I had a crush on Percy,” Nico spat. “That’s the truth. That’s the big secret.”

Nico knelt and picked it up. He regarded Jason, as if waiting for an attack. “If the others found out–” “If the others found out,” Jason said, “you’d have that many more people to back you up, and to unleash the fury of the gods on anybody who gives you trouble.” Nico scowled. Jason still felt the resentment and anger rippling off him. (Riordan, 2013, p. 292)

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When Nico finally admits that he likes Percy, he still feels insecure. He is afraid that people might judge him for who he is. He is still slightly angry upon the fact that he likes Percy. He also does not believe when Jason says that many people will support him rather than bring him down. His anger shows his hatred toward himself as a homosexual. It is as if even he himself does not accept who he really is.

Nico’s Passivity. Nico is a very quiet and reserved person, he is very passive especially when it comes to open up and coming out. He is also someone who is introverted. He only talks when needed. He never talks personal matters even to his closest friends and family. Rather than talking about his feelings toward Percy to others, he prefers to keep it to himself. He prefers to withdraw from everyone and to stay mute.

Tell him, Nico di Angelo, Cupid said. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone.

Will you hide among the dead, as you always do? Cupid taunted. (Riordan, 2013, p. 289)

Nico knows that for whoever he is, he cannot stay. He decides to run away.

This shows Nico’s passivity. He thinks that there is no other way than running

away from everything. He hides himself from the society in order to not get

judged by it. How he is afraid of himself and his feelings shows that he tries so

hard to deny that he, in fact, has a crush on someone from the same sex.

Nico’s Neuroticism. It is already described in the first subtopic that Nico is a

neurotic person. He is easily triggered when things do not go his way or when

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someone or something gets onto his nerves. He reacts quick especially when

things that are related to Percy are mentioned.

“Percy told me about that place,” Jason said. “Seventy years, but it only felt like a month?” Nico clenched his fist until his fingers turned white. “Yeah. I’m sure Percy told you all about me.” His voice was heavy with bitterness–more than Jason could understand. (Riordan, 2013, p. 273)

Nico shows his neuroticism here. When he hears the name Percy, he cannot help to express his emotions through his reaction. The way he clenches his fist until his fingers turn white shows that he is angry upon hearing Percy’s name. It is not that he dislikes Percy, he, in fact, likes Percy to the point that he has a crush on him He also speaks with the tone of bitterness. Even though Nico is known to be someone who is expressionless, he still shows some emotions when faced with things that get onto his nerves.

Jason saw the moment when Percy returned and told Nico that Bianca was dead. Nico had screamed and called him a liar. He’d felt betrayed, but still . . . when the skeleton warriors attacked, he couldn’t let them harm Percy. Nico had called on the earth to swallow them up, and then he’d run away–terrified of his own powers, and his own emotions. (Riordan, 2013, p. 290)

Nico here shows his neuroticism. The actual reason that Nico is angry at

Percy probably not only because of Bianca’s death, it is also probably because he realizes that he has feelings for Percy. Not wanting the skeleton warriors to attack

Percy, with the possible reason that he cannot bear watching Percy whom he adores get hurt, Nico withdraws himself. He runs away with his feelings, his own emotions. He then knows that it is dangerous for him to stay there, it is dangerous if others find out that he starts to have feelings for Percy, or so he thinks. He

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rather stays quiet and about this, so he runs away from everything and everyone that he knows.

Jason tried to think of something to say. He wanted to be Nico’s friend. He knew that was the only way to help. But Nico wasn’t making it easy. He raised his hand in submission. “Yeah, okay. But, Nico, you do choose how to live your life. You want to trust somebody? Maybe take a risk that I’m really your friend and I’ll accept you. It’s better than hiding.” The floor cracked between them. The crevice hissed. The air around Nico shimmered with spectral light. “Hiding?” Nico’s voice was deadly quiet. Jason’s fingers itched to draw his sword. He’d met plenty of scary demigods, but he was starting to realize that Nico di Angelo–as pale and gaunt as he looked–more than he could handle. Nevertheless, he held Nico’s gaze. “Yes, hiding. You’ve run away from both camps. You’re so afraid you’ll get rejected that you won’t even try. Maybe it’s time you come out of the shadows.” Just when the tension became unbearable, Nico dropped his eyes. The fissure closed in the balcony floor. The ghostly light faded. (Riordan, 2013, p. 428-429)

Nico here is reassured by Jason that everything is going to be okay. Still, he feels insecure. Other than that, he also shows his anger. His anger shows neuroticism he has within himself. Whenever Nico is angry, somehow, due to his powers, the earth reacts to his emotions. It can be seen in how the floor cracks and the crevice hisses. Nico is ready to be angry at Jason again for indirectly mentioning the fact that Nico is a homosexual. Jason convinces Nico that he will accept him for who he is and so will the others, but Nico is not convinced that the earth give reactions to his appearing emotions. Jason states out the fact that Nico is indeed insecure by saying that he runs away from camp because he is so afraid of getting rejected. The tension in their conversation is not good although in the end Nico is convinced.

“Percy laced his fingers through Annabeth’s. Hazel happened to glance at

Nico and saw pain in his eyes.” (Riordan, 2013, p. 565). Nico once again shows

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his neuroticism here. The way Nico reacts when Percy is being romantic with

Annabeth shows that his emotion is triggered because he is jealous. He is jealous when he sees Percy, the one whom he likes, holding hands with Annabeth. He starts showing pain in his eyes. His pain also shows that he is depressed upon the thought that Percy will not like him back because Percy has Annabeth.

“Uh . . .” Percy raised his hand. “I mean, I know you just got all eight of us to the surface, and that was awesome. But a year ago you said transporting just yourself was dangerous and unpredictable. A couple of times you ended up in China. Transporting a forty-foot statue and two people halfway across the world–” “I’ve changed since I came back from Tartarus.” Nico’s eyes glittered with anger–more intensely than Percy understood. He wondered if he’d done something to offend the guy. (Riordan, 2013, p. 576)

Everything about Percy seems to irk Nico. Nico acknowledges his feelings for Percy. However, it is still a secret, only he and Jason knows what is actually going on. Since Nico still tries to hide his feelings from other people, he gets angry even when Percy is only talking to him. His anger shows his neuroticism.

Nico tries to not come out right in front of Percy, causing him to bottle his emotions that later are channeled into anger.

Nico’s Paranoia Traits. Another strong proof that proves Nico is a homosexual is that he always shows paranoia traits. Brill (1940) as cited in

Rosario (2002) states that many homosexuals show paranoia traits. The paranoia traits can be oversuspicious, “shadowy”, or mistrustful. This paranoia is caused by repressed homosexuality. Repressed homosexuality is caused by the fact that homosexuals are usually treated as outcasts by the civilization.

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His voice was heavy with bitterness–more than Jason could understand. ….. (Riordan, 2013, p. 273)

Nico’s reaction shows his paranoia. Nico probably represses his feelings for

Percy for a long time. When he hears Percy’s name, he clenches his fist and his voice is filled with bitterness that makes Jason feels that Nico is hiding something.His neurotic characteristic also explains this well. Nico is easily triggered when things that are related to his crush, Percy, show up. He starts channeling his emotion into anger, this shows in how he clenches his fist and responds to Jason bitterly. This makes Jason curious and suspicious about what exactly happens between Nico and Percy.

“Nico realized that he was holding Percy’s hand and quickly letting go.”

(Riordan, 2013, p. 564). This, once again, shows Nico’s paranoia. If it is a normal situation, he will not be panicked when he holds Percy’s hand. Nico’s neurotic characteristic can be seen here. He panicked and reacted immediately when he finally is faced with his crush, Percy. Being panicked when holding hands with

Percy only makes Nico look suspicious, it really appears that he does not want others to know about how he has feelings for Percy.

“Thank you,” Percy said. Nico frowned. “What for?” “You promised to lead the others to the House of Hades,” Percy said. “You did it.” Nico tied the ends of the ropes together, making a halter. “You got me out of that bronze jar in Rome. Saved my life yet again. It was the least I could do.” His voice was steely, guarded. Percy wished he could figure out what made this guy tick, but he’d never been able to. ….. (Riordan, 2013, p. 579)

When Nico, again, faces Percy, he becomes more secretive. The way he reacts around Percy is shadowy, considering how he tries to not come off guard.

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The way Nico tries to not come off guard shows that he is insecure of how Percy might react. Since he is also introverted he does not talk a lot about how he feels.

This also to prevent Percy from figuring out how Nico truly feels. He tries so hard to hide the fact that he likes Percy, he does not want to come off guard by letting Percy know that he likes him. How Percy wishes for figuring out what is going on with Nico shows that Nico has secrets that one can never actually figure out.

A Secret Homosexual and a Blatant Homosexual. Jim Smith (1983) states that a secret homosexual is a homosexual who tries to protect his/her positions by concealing their homosexuality. They get married, wear wedding rings, or have spouse and employers who do not know about their homosexuality. Writer finds that Nico’s introverted characteristic and grim characteristic show that he is a secret homosexual.

His voice was heavy with bitterness–more than Jason could understand. He knew that Nico had blamed Percy for getting his sister Bianca killed, but they’d supposedly gotten past that, at least according to Percy. Piper had also mentioned a rumor that Nico had a crush on Annabeth. Maybe that was part of it. (Riordan, 2013, p. 273)

Nico is able to hide his true self from his friends. He manages to make others think that he has a crush on Annabeth instead of Percy. As he keeps on hiding his emotions by showing that he dislikes Percy to the bones, he also hides the fact that he is a homosexual. The facts that he hides are well kept because Nico never talks about personal matters to others, which shows his introversion. Nico’s bitterness towards Percy is merely because he has feelings for him, which he thinks he is not supposed to have. People always think his bitterness is caused because Nico likes Percy’s girlfriend instead of Percy himself. This shows that

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Nico hides the fact that he is a homosexual by letting others misunderstand about his crush, he makes people think that he is a heterosexual.

“Nico?” Jason said. “What’s he talking about?” “I don’t know. Nothing.” “Nothing?” Favonius cried. “The one you care for most . . . plunged into Tartarus, and still you will not allow the truth?” Suddenly Jason felt like he was eavesdropping. The one you care for most. He remembered what Piper had told him about Nico’s crush on Annabeth. Apparently Nico’s feelings went way deeper than a simple crush. (Riordan, 2013, p. 279)

When Nico is asked about the one he cares the most, Favonius is referring to

Percy because Percy and Annabeth both plunge into Tartarus. Nico before has made his friends think that he has a crush on Annabeth instead of Percy, that is why Jason thinks that the one Nico cares the most is Annabeth. Nico decides to keep it all to himself. He decides to keep his own feelings to himself and let it be concealed by letting others think that he has a crush on Annabeth.

Nico was also a possible blatant homosexual seeing from what he was wearing for his physical appearance. Blatant homosexuals, as Smith (1983) stated, are the homosexuals who show their homosexuality through their femininity or physical appearances, like wearing leather jacket, accessory like chains, or boots. When someone is a blatant homosexual, he or she lives up to the stereotypes and expectations of the society about homosexuals.

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In the quotation, it is described that Nico wears a leather aviator jacket. This might be a sign of his homosexuality. As mentioned before, blatant homosexuals tend to wear leather jacket. Nico wears a leather jacket explains much about how he actually shows his homosexuality. Blatant homosexuals also tend to show their homosexuality by wearing accessories like chains. Nico also wears an accessory which is his silver skull ring.

Nico wears a leather aviator jacket and also a silver skull ring as his accessory. Nico does not show any signs of femininity but he does show his homosexuality through his physical appearance. From what he is wearing, Nico showcases not only his grim characteristic (dark-colored clothes and skull rings) but also his homosexuality.

A Homophile. Pickett (2009) in The A to Z of Homosexuality: The A to Z

Guide Series states that homophile does not focus on the carnal aspects of the same-sex attraction. Homophile focuses more on the role of emotional, romantic, and social bonds. The use of this term is to avoid the stereotype of homosexuals as persons who could not control their libidos or persons who are ill sexually.

Nico shows that he is a homophile through his characteristic which is passive characteristic.

Being a passive person means Nico does not usually involve himself in a lot of matters. He also prefers to stay away from everything rather than troubling himself and his feelings. It is very rare of Nico to suddenly show his emotions or express his feelings toward someone directly.

Images flashed through his mind. He saw Nico and his sister on a snowy cliff in Maine, Percy Jackson protecting them from a manticore. Percy’s

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sword gleamed in the dark. He’d been the first demigod Nico had ever seen in action. Later at Camp Half-Blood, Percy took Nico by the arm, promising to keep his sister Bianca safe. Nico believed him. Nico looked into his sea- green eyes and thought, How can he possibly fail? This is a real hero. He was Nico’s favorite game, Mythomagic, brought to life.

Jason saw a dozen more scenes like this from Nico’s point of view. . . . And they left him stunned, unable to move or speak. (Riordan, 2013, p. 290)

To Nico, Percy is actually a person he adored so much, ever since the first time they met. Nico had always been this geek who played a set of Mythomagic cards long ago. The way Percy protects him from a manticore leaves Nico in awe.

Percy is the first demigod Nico has ever seen in action. To Nico, Percy is the living act of his favorite game. He trusts Percy. From the moment he looks into

Percy’s eyes, he knows he can trust him. His trust in Percy shows his homosexuality in a more romantic and emotional way. Nico does not express a lot. However, the way Nico looks and trusts Percy without words show how much he likes Percy. Nico does not have to say a lot, his feelings know that he has a thing for Percy, he just has not yet realized it.

In the quotation above, Nico cannot let his skeleton warriors attack Percy, he cannot let them hurt him. This shows Nico’s unexpected affection toward Percy.

At first, Nico is angry because he thinks that Percy fails him. He unleashes his power he is not aware of having due to his anger. However, still, no matter how angry Nico is, he cannot let Percy get hurt. Nico rarely acts like this. Not wanting

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anyone or anything to hurt Percy shows that Nico, in fact, has a reason to do such thing. His reason is because he is already emotionally affected by Percy. At that time, he already has feelings for Percy, which leaves him terrified and makes him run away from everything that can lead him back to Percy. This act also shows that even though Nico does have feelings for someone from the same sex, he does not have any sexual desire. He shows his affection instead by not letting anything hurt Percy. This is surprising since Nico always stays quiet and never wants to open up and come out, not until he is revealed to have a crush on Percy.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

This is the last chapter of the study. This chapter concludes the analysis into a summary. Writer gives answers to the topic Homosexuality Revealed in Nico di

Angelo’s Characteristics in Rick Riordan’s The House of Hades. There are two problem formulations for this topic which answers are summarized here. The first problem is to find out Nico di Angelo’s characteristics, in which writer uses M.J

Murphy’s theory of characterization. The second problem is to find out Nico’s homosexuality through his characteristics, in which writer uses the theory of homosexuality.

The first problem is about Nico di Angelo’s characteristics. Nico shows several characteristics only he possesses in the novel. The first characteristic is grim. Through this characteristic, Nico shows that he was a grim person through and through. Nico is a person who is really quiet. He never shows his true feelings or emotions. Nico always looks like a pale ghost, he even reminds others of flesh-eating monsters every time the others see him. The way he styles himself with his leather jacket, black T-shirt and jeans and his Stygian iron blade also emits his grim aura. His eyes always look dark, hollow and sad, it is as if he never experienced happiness. The second characteristic is that he is neurotic, especially when he is faced with pressure and stress. Whenever he faces pressure and stress,

Nico tends to be really nervous, anxious, or even angry. He becomes nervous every time someone pressures him. When Nico is nervous, he shows his true feelings from his reactions toward his pressure. He either looks really pale

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instantly, looks like he is going to be really sick, or even worse, he channels his nervousness into anger. The next characteristic is he is a passive person. Nico never really involves himself in every matter. He stays quiet and speaks only when needed. However, whenever he speaks, he suddenly gives a fright to people around him since they are not used of Nico’s being around. His passive characteristic also shows when he prefers to run away instead of facing the troubles he has. When he discovers his feelings, he runs away to avoid everything that can lead him to think about his feelings. Nico also expresses his insecurity and self-hating toward himself. Nico knows that he is different from other normal boys. He is insecure of what people might think of him. He already has a bad reputation because he is the son of Hades. He is afraid people will judge him for having a crush on his friend from the same sex. He feels that he does not belong anywhere because he is different. Nico ends up hating himself and being insecure about his sense of not belonging anywhere. Lastly, Nico is an introverted character. He often hides his feelings and emotions. No one is able to find out what is exactly on his mind, what he is exactly thinking. He hardly expresses everything including his own feelings through words.

The second problem is about Nico di Angelo’s homosexuality as seen through his characteristics. Nico’s characteristics are already summarized in the first problem answer. The writer uses Allport’s personality traits of those who experience stereotyping and prejudice by the society (including Blacks, Jews, and homosexuals). Those personality traits are excessive concern and preoccupation with minority or deviant group membership, feelings of insecurity, denial of membership in the group, withdrawal and passivity, self-derision, strong in-group

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ties coupled with prejudice against out groups, slyness and cunning, self-hate, aggression against one's own group, militancy, enhanced striving, neuroticism, and acting out self-fulfilling prophecies about one's own inferiority. Nico as a homosexual has four of those personality traits. The first and second traits are his feelings of insecurity and self-hate. Nico constantly thinks that he does not belong anywhere. He keeps on thinking that the society would not accept him for being a homosexual. He is afraid that he would be judged for being a homosexual when he is actually not, seeing how Jason tries to reassure and encourage Nico.

Nico still feels different because of his own feelings. That makes Nico hate himself as who he is, that also increases his insecurity about his sense of not belonging anywhere. The third is his passivity. The second he realizes that he has feelings for Percy, he runs away, he withdraws from everyone he knows and goes on hiding. He stays mute and passive about his feelings toward Percy. He runs away just so that he will not be judged by anyone and so that no one can know about his true feelings. The fourth is Nico’s neuroticism. Nico constantly shows this personality trait. Anything that relates to his being a homosexual only triggers him to become angry. He also shows jealousy when he see Percy holding hands with Annabeth. Another explanation that explains Nico is a homosexual is how Nico shows paranoia traits, which can be oversuspicious, shadowy, or mistrustful. Nico is constantly being suspicious and shadowy whenever he hears his crush’s name or whenever he actually faces his crush. He tries to not come off guard. However, the way he reacts toward Percy or Percy’s name is quite suspicious to others.

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Nico is a secret homosexual, he hides his true self from others, he lets others mistake his sexuality, thinking that he is a heterosexual. Nico does that by staying quiet about how he really feels which leaves people around assuming that instead of having a crush on Percy, he has a crush on Annabeth. He is used to keep the facts about his own feelings and emotions because Nico is introverted, he never really talks about his personal matters to others. He always keeps them to himself. Nico is also a blatant homosexual as seen through the way he styles himself. He dresses himself with dark colored clothes and accessories himself with a silver skull ring. The way he styles himself is not only to show his grim characteristic, but also to lowkey show his homosexuality. His quiet and unexpected characteristic is related to his being a homophile. Homophile is a term for a homosexual who does not focus on sexual attractions but focuses on emotional bonds. Nico is usually passive and hardly shows his feelings and affection but he does everything for Percy. He cannot let anyone or anything hurt

Percy because he loves Percy and he cares about him. His feelings for Percy then surprised his friend, Jason. Nico, whom to him is someone who never shows his feelings for just anyone surprises Jason with his unexpected act toward Percy.

People never actually find out, not until Jason, because Nico chooses to stay mute about this.

Homosexuality can come from many aspects. Most literary works discuss about how homosexuality is depicted sexually. Being a homosexual brings out the stereotype that that person is attracted to another person of the same sex sexually. With the term homophile, readers can know that homosexuality can also come from emotional aspect. Nico di Angelo proves that homosexuality can

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focus on emotional bonds rather than a mere sexual attraction. By learning and understanding about this homophile aspect of homosexuality, readers can understand that there is more to homosexuality than just a sexual attraction towards those from the same sex.

Through this study, readers can also learn how to tell someone is a homosexual by looking at his or her characteristics as a person. Even one characteristic can show that person is a homosexual. Nico di Angelo proves that his characteristics actually show his homosexuality, one example is when it is found out that Nico is an insecure person. His feelings of insecurity show that he is insecure of being a homosexual and of being not accepted because he is a homosexual.He also is paranoid of getting caught as a homosexual due to his insecurity.

This study also shows that someone can be both a secret homosexual and blatant homosexual. Nico di Angelo hides his homosexuality by letting others confuse him as a heterosexual (a secret homosexual, red.) while still shows his homosexuality through the way he dresses and accessories himself (a blatant homosexual, red.)

From this study, it can be learned that even though homosexuality is slowly accepted, most homosexuals still cannot express themselves as homosexuals well.

Most of them are still afraid and insecure of how the society will see them for who they actually are. This study is conducted in hope that later in the future homosexuals will be well accepted by the society and that later homosexuals do not have to stay in the closet.

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REFERENCES

Bertens, Hans. (2008). Literary theory: the basics, 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.

Cahyadi, Ineke S. (2003.) David’s Homosexuality: A Psychological Study on the Factors and His Character Development in James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room.(Undergraduate Thesis). Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta.

Coleman, James C. (1976). Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life (5th ed). New York: Scott, Foresman and Company.

D’Augelli, Anthony R., and Charlotte J. Patterson. (Eds.) (1995) Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities over the Lifespan: Psychological Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press.

Garnets, Linda., and Douglas Kimmel. (Eds.) (2003). Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Experiences. New York: Columbia University Press.

Koraag, Helga L.C. (2017). The Causal Factors of Otoko’s Homosexuality as seen in Yasunari Kawabata’s Beauty and Sadness. (Undergraduate Thesis). Universitas Sanata Dharma, Yogyakarta.

McWirther, David P., Stephanie A. Sanders, & June Machover Reinisch. (Eds.) (1990). Homosexuality/Heterosexuality: Concepts of Sexual Orientation. New York: Oxford University Press.

Murphy, Ph.D., M.J. (1972). Understanding Unseens: An Introduction to English Poetry and the English Novel for Overseas Students. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.

Pope, Rob. (2002). The English Studies Book: An introduction to language, literature, and culture. London: Routledge.

Riordan, Rick. (2013). The House of Hades. New York: Disney Hyperion Books.

Rosario, Vernon. (2002). Homosexuality and Science: A Guide to Debates. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc.

Stewart, Chuck. (2003). Gay and Lesbian Issues: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc.

Stone, Alan. A., and Sue Smart Stone. (1966). The Abnormal Personality Through Literature. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Summary of Rick Riordan’s The House of Hades

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan is the fourth book of Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series. Heroes of Olympus series is a continuation series from

Riordan’s famous work, Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

In The House of Hades, it is told that Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are thrown into Tartarus, a pit which is used to keep monsters and titans. The other demigods consist of Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, and Frank Zhang are trying to save them by going on a quest to The House of

Hades in which they can open the Doors of Death to rescue Percy and Annabeth.

The crew also has Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades, and their satyr protector,

Coach Hedge. Without Nico di Angelo, it will be impossible to enter The House of Hades since Nico has all the access.

In this novel, many secrets are about to be revealed. One of them being

Nico’s actually having a crush on Percy. It is not just a usual crush, it is a feeling developed over years. The novel reveals how Nico dealt with his feelings for

Percy and how his characteristics actually tell a lot about his homosexuality.

Appendix 2: Rick Riordan’s Short Biography

Rick Riordan is a New York #1 best-selling author who rises up to the surface with his famous work, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Most of

Riordan’s works are about mythologies from around the world, which are including Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Norse mythology, and Egyptian

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mythology. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is his first work that tells about Greek gods and goddesses. He then expands the series by continuing it with

Heroes of Olympus series then followed by Trials of Apollo series, both of which include Greek and Roman mythology altogether. His work about Norse mythology is the Magnus Chase series and his work about Egyptian mythology is

The Kane Chronicles series.

Riordan also succeeds in writing books that tell more about Greek gods and heroes, Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods and Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes. He tells the original stories of each god, goddess, and hero in his own interesting and captivating narratives.

Riordan now lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons.

More information can be retrieved by accessing www.rickriordan.com or following him on Twitter @camphalfblood.