Disabilities in Rick Riordan's Greek and Roman Retellings

Home , John Rocco, Mount Othrys, Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan, The Sea of Monsters

DISABLED HEROES: DISABILITIES IN RICK RIORDAN'S GREEK AND ROMAN RETELLINGS

Katelyn Balkum

A Thesis

Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

August 2020

Committee:

Kristen Rudisill, Advisor

Esther Clinton

Katherine Lynn Meizel

Katelyn Balkum

Kristen Rudisill, Advisor

Rick Riordan's middle-grade novels have been studied for the introduction of antiquities to young readers but not for the inclusion of characters with disabilities and diverse backgrounds. This project explores Riordan's use of disabilities in his Greek and Roman mythology retelling series and argues that while Riordan’s use of disabilities is positive overall, his narrative still falls into the negative effects of the supercrip narrative. These series feature demigods who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia because of their status as a half-god and half-mortal children. Also, other characters in the series use disabilities to hid their mythical creature features from the mortal world around them.

References to the disabilities were pulled through a targeted keyword search about the disabilities or a character. The use of the learning disabilities for the demigods create an explanation for the disabilities that cause both disabilities to become nothing more than superpower abilities that the demigods have. This thesis analyzed reference to the disabilities that were pulled through a target keyword search for the disabilities and relevant characters.

Adaptational references were pulled from the adaptations of the series from the films and musical. Also, other characters in the series use disabilities to hide their mythical creature features from the mortal world around them. The performed disabilities by mythical creatures perform a reverse of the common disability trait of passing. Passing occurs when a disabled person appears not to be disabled while interacting with people, but here, the mythological creatures pass as mortal while interacting with others. As a whole, Riordan's use of disability provides positive representation of people with disabilities that can offer an introduction to the

ADHD, dyslexia, and others for young readers. iv

In loving memory of my mom.

Thank you, for always believing in me . v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis committee members: Kristen Rudisill,

Esther Clinton, and Katherine Meizel, who helped me along every step of this process.

I want to thank my family for all the support shown to me throughout pursuing this degree. And to my boyfriend, Arthur, for always providing assistance to keep me going. To my roommate Nicole for providing spell check and grammar aid. Our dogs Percy and Marty for being there for emotional support. vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Author Background ...... 4

Chapter Outline ...... 10

CHAPTER ONE. FROM DEFINING NORMALCY TO THE SUPERCRIP: HOW

SCHOLARS THEORIZE DISABILITY ...... 12

Disability ...... 12

Common Narratives ...... 14

Supercrip ...... 16

Representation...... 18

Children’s Literature ...... 21

Chapter Conclusion ...... 24

CHAPTER TWO. THE USE OF DYSLEXIA AND ADHD IN RIORDAN’S GREEK AND

ROMAN SERIES ...... 25

Introduction ...... 25

Dyslexia ...... 26

ADHD ...... 30

Percy Jackson and the Creation of the Myth ...... 32

Series Synopsis ...... 34

Methods...... 35

“Meaningless spaghetti” ...... 35

“ADHD Posterchild” ...... 37 vii

“Godling” ...... 44

Chapter Conclusion ...... 48

CHAPTER THREE. PASSING AND REVEALING: HOW CHARACTERS PERFORM

DISABILITY TO MOVE BETWEEN THE MYTHICAL AND MORTAL WORLDS ...... 50

Performing Disability...... 50

“I prefer to stay in human form.” ...... 51

Chiron ...... 52

Grover ...... 53

Tyson...... 56

“Ev’ry Demi has a special skill.” ...... 60

Scent ...... 60

Technology ...... 62

Fatal Flaw...... 64

Chapter Conclusion ...... 68

CONCLUSION ...... 70

WORKS CITED ...... 72

INTRODUCTION

The importance and impact of disability representation in children's literature is the focus of many studies, such as Brittan (2004) and Wilkins et al. (2016).1 This thesis will look at the representation of the invisible disabilities of dyslexia, ADHD, an unnamed intellectual disability, and two physical disabilities in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of

Olympus, and Trials of Apollo book series. Each of these series highlights demigod heroes who have both dyslexia and ADHD. The mythical creatures of these series use physical and intellectual disabilities to disguise themselves as human so they can escape detection by unsuspecting mortals and demigods. The Greek and Roman myth retellings done by Riordan feature multiple characters as opposed to single minor characters. I argue that although Rick

Riordan's works are hailed for positive representation of disability, the author still falls into common patterns of stereotyping the disabilities and thus presents them solely in supercrip narratives. This is apparent through Rick Riordan's use of disabilities to serve two distinct purposes in the story as a supercrip or to help mythical creatures fit into the mortal world around them.

In second grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. My diagnosis was the thing that frist drew me to first read Rick Riordan’s series with demigods. All the demigods in the series have dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), due to their shared background of having either a Greek or Roman godly parent. The author did an excellent job with the disabled heroes by giving them a heroic and positive role, something I did not experience with other books. When I first read the books, the inclusion of ADHD was also interesting to me since I had

1 Other studies reviewed for this thesis includes: Fein and Ginsburg (1978), Hopkins (1980), Alteri (2008), and Smith-D'Arezzo and More-Thomas (2010) 2 always seen the disability portrayed as a negative in the media. I had a hard time connecting with the ADHD examples since I lacked a personal experience with this learning disability. While being reevaluated for dyslexia in 2013, the tester said I probably should see a professional about getting an ADHD diagnosis. I never thought I needed an ADHD diagnosis because I already had accommodations at school. I also did not want to be placed on stimulant medications, primarily due to the social stigmas against stimulants I grew up hearing.

Rick Riordan’s various children’s series are noted for their steady increase of characters who have multiple cultural backgrounds, disabilities, and sexual orientations. These elements are often not the focus of scholarly works about Riordan. Instead, scholars address the critical role his books have played in introducing antiquity to young readers (Murnahan, 2011 and Leighton,

2014). This thesis will fill in one of the overlooked elements of these works by addressing the use of disabilities by Riordan.

In this section, I will review the use of disabilities in other popular children’s literature commonly read by the age range targeted by of Riordan’s series. Freak the Mighty (1993) by

Rodman Philbrick tells the story of two boys who are marked as outcasts due to their differences from the other children at their school. Maxwell Kane is larger than all his peers and his low self- esteem has made it hard from him to make friends. He makes friends with a disabled boy named

Kevin, who is referred to as “Freak” by his peers, due to his crutches, leg braces, and shortness.

Kevin has Morquio syndrome a birth defect which progressively gets worse as one ages. The two form an unlikely friendship as the story progresses. In the end, Kevin passes away due complications with his disease and Maxwell has a hard time grieving the loss of his friend. Yet, due to his friendship the Kevin, Max becomes a better person. This book is commonly used in 3 the curriculum for middle school children. I read this book as part of my assigned readings in

Texas public school and it is also required reading in Ohio.

Hank Zipzer (2003-2010) by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver tells the story of a dyslexic boy with ADHD and his adventures in life and at school. The book often refers to Hank as "the world's greatest underachiever" who has learning difficulties (Lipson, 2005). The use of disabilities reflects the author Henry Winkler’s own experience growing up with both dyslexia and ADHD. This seventeen-book series highlights Hank’s experiences as he goes through life as a middle schooler. The series provides a look into dyslexia and ADHD through the author’s own experience with both disabilities. Each book shows the creativity and growth of a character with a learning disability in middle school.

Wonder (2012) by R. J. Palacio tells the story of ten-year old August Pullman who has severe birth defects such as mandibulo-facial dysostosis and a cleft palate, which have resulted in facial disfigurement. The story starts with August going to school for the first time in his life.

Due to his health issues, he had always been homeschooled before this. When touring the school the four students who are there to help with the tour are given verbal warnings about August’s facial deformities to prepare them for how August looks. The story follows August and his family as they are dealing with him entering the world and dealing with bullies and people who are afraid of his looks. The narrative is really about August coming into his own and learning to find people who accept him for who he is. Palacio’s book features disabilities that are not normally widespread. This reflects a similar trend of sharing disabilities and illness that are not as widely known as learning disabilities or blindness. Some other examples are Fault in Stars by

John Green (2012) which depicts characters with metastatic thyroid cancer and osteosarcoma,

4 and Five Feet Apart by Mikki Daughtry, Rachael Lippincott, and Tobias Iaconis (2018) where a characters has cystic fibrosis. These books three book also have popular film adaptations.

El Deafo (2014) is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel by Cece Bell. The main character is an anthropomorphized rabbit representing the author, who has to wear a hearing aid after hearing loss from meningitis. Due to her hearing loss Cece has to wear hearing aids and is placed in special education classes. These events further mark Cece as different from the peers around her. As a way to cope Cece invents the character “El Deafo” who possesses the superpower of super hearing. The character becomes a way for Cece to escape from the events around her until she finds a true friend and her confidence grows. After her growth in confidence, Cece comes to see that she can be more than El Deafo. This semiautobiographical work provides a personalized insight into a disability that demonstrates through its single view of a disability that disabilities can impact people in a number of different ways.

The authors reviewed use disabilities a number of ways. The disabilities are used as the main identifier in a character’s development and interactions with other characters. Riordan provides a different portal for the disabilities used in his stories through positive portrayal and supercrip narratives. The disabilities of Riordan’s demigods are not the most interesting or important thing about them. Once established, they are only mentioned when relevant to the narrative. Since Riordan’s series are urban fantasy there is the added element of the disabilities being used outside of a contemporary real-world setting.

Author Background

This thesis focuses on three series written by Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson and the

Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Trials of Apollo, and their adaptations. These series were chosen due to their unique use of learning disabilities and physical disabilities. This section will provide 5 book synopses of all of Riordan’s publications and explain the decision to focus this thesis on the series with Greek and Roman retellings. I will start with a synopsis of the three series this thesis focuses on and then move to the other publications by Riordan.

In 2001, middle school teacher Riordan’s eldest son Haley started struggling in school and lost interest in learning. His father noticed his interest in Greek mythology and began telling

Haley those stories at night. Once Rick ran out of stories, Haley told him he should just make more stories up (Sparks, 46-7). In the past, as a classroom assignment Riordan would ask his students to create a new demigod hero and send them on any kind of quest they wanted, so this time Riordan made up his hero named Percy Jackson (Wheeler, 14-15).

Riordan published his first children’s book, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The

Lightning Thief, in 2005. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2005-2009) follows the narrator

Percy Jackson as he embarks on many quests to stop the Titan King Kronos from rising into the modern world. Riordan provides contemporary retellings of Greek myths in a modern setting across the United States. The author explains this reallocation as “immortal means immortal” and the gods relocate to the place at the heart of Western Civilization (Lightning, 68, 72). The heart of Western Civilization currently resides in the United States with Mount Olympus on the 600th floor of the Empire State building (Lightning, 99) Another change to the traditional myths is that

Riordan gives all his demigods are the shared traits of dyslexia and ADHD. Dyslexia allows them to read Ancient Greek or Latin, their godly parent’s language, and ADHD allows them to see much more than regular mortals and to have hardwired battle reflexes that can keep demigods alive in battle (Lightning, 88).

At the end of Percy Jackson, a new Great Prophecy is issued that lays the groundwork for the sequel series Heroes of Olympus (2010-2014). This series follows many characters 6 from Percy Jackson and introduces new characters who are Roman demigods based out of Camp

Jupiter in San Francisco, California. The narrative explains that the two demigod groups had to remain separate from each other for two main reasons. First, Greek and Roman demigods tended to fight each other whenever they met, most notably in the US Civil War. Second, the gods and goddesses who were changed by the Romans became confused and developed split personalities.

Similar to their Greek demigod counterparts, Roman demigods have ADHD and dyslexia. In this series, the two groups of demigods come together to embark on a quest to the ancient world to stop the giant Gaea from rising and to stop the two Camps from fighting each other.

The Trials of Apollo (2016-present) follows the events of the Heroes of Olympus series.

At the end of the earlier, Zeus blames series the god Apollo is cast down to the mortal world to live as a mortal until his father Zeus is no longer upset with him. The Trails of Apollo picks up with a the story with Apollo, as the mortal Lester Papadopoulos, being given the task of reclaiming his five sites of prophecy which became in active after events in the Heroes of

Olympus as part of Apollo’s punishment from Zeus. As a mortal, Lester does not have the learning disabilities shared by all the demigods who do, but through his interactions with demigods, readers still see those disabilities represented. Some demigods are new and others familiar to the readers from the Percy Jackson and Heroes series. The Trials of Apollo is ongoing, with the expected conclusion to be published fall 2020.

Rick Riordan’s works have had four different forms of adaptations done after their publication. First, 20th Century Fox released two films Percy Jackson and the Olympians:

Lightning Thief (2010) and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters (2013). The films used the same disability narratives for dyslexia and ADHD, refer to ADD exclusively, and include the performed disabilities that are utilized by the characters Chiron, Grover, and Tyson. I 7 will reference film dialogue and the visual representation of the characters in the course of my argument. Second, the graphic novel adaptation of the Percy Jackson (2005-2019) and Heroes of

Olympus (2014-present). The graphic novels remain close to the source materials. However, many things are removed due to the new format’s limitations, which results in the main elements of the novels being the focus with smaller plot points being excluded. Since the text the of graphic novel is directly from the original novel, the graphic novel versions will be used only for the visual elements that fit into the thesis. Third, there is an edition of The Lightning Thief (2018) illustrated by John Rocco, where the story remains untouched as Rocco provides full-page and margin sized renditions of the elements of the story. Similar to graphic novelizations, the illustrated edition will be used in this study for the visual representation of the source material.

Finally, The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (2014 and 2017) book by Joe

Tracz, music, and lyrics by Rob Rokicki, is dubbed by the fans “the adaptation fans deserve”

(Dempsey, 2019). Due to minimal changes to the source materials and its overall production, this adaptation is beloved by fans since the films remain incomplete and far from the source material.

The musical started as an off-Broadway one-hour adaptation that expanded into a two-hour adaption that went on two national tours and a limited Broadway engagement. The musical and lyrics were released through two forms: a vocal selection book and two cast recordings, one being a deluxe album form featuring new songs. The book has yet to be released in an official form. For this thesis, the lyrics will be the only aspects of the musical addressed.

At the time of this thesis, the hashtag “#DisneyAdaptPercyJackson” has become a worldwide trend as fans seek to have an adaption of the series be done by Disney, which bought the rights from Fox, to be added to their Disney+ streaming platform. The popularity of the hashtag resulted in Rick Riordan meeting with Disney, but nothing has been announced (Topel, 8

2019). There has yet to an official word on if there will be a remake of the series on film or animation. Fans, myself included, hope that Disney will adapt the series once more with the aim of being more faithful to the source material and the world Riordan creates as well as moving beyond the first two books.

Rick Riordan started his professional writing career with the publication of his adult mystery series Tres Navarre (1997-2007), which is about a detective based out of San Antonio,

Texas, and then Austin, Texas, who investigates murders in the surrounding area. While writing a book a year for this series, Riordan worked as a middle school teacher.

While working on the Percy Jackson series, the author started the 39 Clues series (2008-

2011), an adventure series written by multiple authors. Riordan wrote the first book in the series The Maze of Bones (2008) and did collaborative work on the eleventh book Vespers Rising

(2011). The original series follows the orphans Amy and Dan Cahill, who travel around the world due to their family’s connection to historical events and try to stop people from ruining their family name. The series has three other spin-offs that Riordan was not associated with. This series remains the only children’s work by Riordan that does not connect to the larger mythology retellings done by the author.

Riordan published a new series, The Kane Chronicles (2010-2012) following similar retellings to Percy Jackson, through this series focused on Egyptian mythology. The books follow a brother and sister duo, Carter and Sadie Kane, as they work to stop Apophis, the god of chaos and darkness, from ending the world. The siblings become vessels for the Egyptian god

Horus, god of kingship and the sky, and goddess Isis, protector of women, children, and health.

They work together with magicians to defeat Apophis. The series is set in Brooklyn, and when asked why not Manhattan, a character explains, “Manhattan has other problems. Other gods. It’s 9 best we stay separated” (Red, 52). This helps establish that all of Riordan’s retellings of mythology exist in the same universe.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (2015-2017) follow Magnus Chase, son of the

Norse god Frey, the god of peace, fertility, and rain, as he stops Ragnarök. Magnus helps further solidify Riordan’s idea that all the gods share the same space, because Magnus is the cousin of the Greek demigod Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson and related series. Riordan’s adult series and other children’s series are not part of the thesis since they do not handle disabilities in the complex ways his Greek and Roman retellings do.

After the success of Riordan’s mythology retellings, fans kept pushing the author to feature otherworld mythologies in the similar modern-day retellings made popular by Percy

Jackson. Due to time constraints and not wanting to misrepresent a culture’s myths, that he was not well-versed in, the author never did publish any other mythologies past his Greek, Egyptian,

Roman, and Norse mythology focused series. In 2016, Riordan announced his imprint with

Hyperion-Disney Publications called “Rick Riordan Presents.” The goal of this imprint is to

“publish great books by middle-grade authors from underrepresented cultures and backgrounds, to let them tell their own stories inspired by the mythology and folklore of their own heritage”

(Corbett, 2016). Riordan wanted help feed the demand for these stories about different mythologies while using his platform to let people with connections to the culture tell their own stories. Due to Riordan’s editor role, the series published by the imprint’s authors will not be related to the larger world created by Percy Jackson. The imprinted launched in 2018 with the goal of published four books a year. Since the imprint does not connect directly to Riordan’s work, these works will not be used in the thesis.

Chapter Outline

Chapter one provides a literature review, in order to put representation of disabilities in children’s literature into context. The scholarship reviewed will address views of disabilities through history and common narratives used when representing disabilities in media and literature. I will review disabilities studies theories such as crip theory, narrative prosthesis, and supercrips. Representation is a crucial element of this thesis I will define the word and further expand on its implications by reviewing the definitions and impacts of tropes and stereotypes with a disabled character is featured in a story. Stereotyping is closely related to the presentation of disability and other minority groups and will be reviewed for its broader impacts on audience’s and children’s ideals of different groups of people. Children's literature as a genre will be discussed to show the range of views on the topic, and studies were done that highlight disability representation in stories for young readers. 2

Chapter two reviews the use of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia in Riordan’s works. One of the main traits of demigods throughout the three series under discussion is that most demigods of either Greek or Roman descent have both disabilities.

This chapter will provide history and definitions of the disabilities to provide context into how

Riordan uses them. Through analysis, the chapter aims to highlight how Riordan’s books exemplify the supercrip narrative.

Chapter three reviews the other uses of disabilities and metaphorical disabilities in Riordan’s work. Chiron, Grover, and Tyson, are all major characters who are mythical creatures that use disabilities to pass as a mortals in the books. Passing usually refers to a disabled person’s ability to pass as a non-disabled individual when interacting with people. However, in this case, the

2These studies are Fein and Ginsburg (1978), Hopkins (1980), and Brittain (2004) 11 mythical creatures do the opposite. By hiding behind their perceived disabilities, mythical creatures can pass as humans in the mortal world. This chapter’s first section will analyze the use of physical and intellectual disability to alter other characters’ perception of these three characters. The second section will address the use of metaphorical disabilities, which further impair the lives of the demigods. This will be done through analysis of the use of technology, scent, and the fatal flaw as further impairments to the lives of demigods. 12

CHAPTER ONE. FROM DEFINING NORMALCY TO THE SUPERCRIP: HOW SCHOLARS THEORIZE DISABILITY

Disability

In Lennard J. Davis' (1995) Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body, the chapter titled "Constructing Normalcy" takes a historical look at how the disabled body came to be viewed as non-normative through analysis of the view of "normal" in a historical moment.

The author connects modern views of disability to industrialization, racism, sexism, and the eugenics movement. Through views of workers and the ideal, human views of what the body should be, also called "the norm," emerge. The concept of the "norm" comes from views about the workload an individual could undertake in the capitalist-industrial system. Through the eugenics movement (1880-1960) in the United States, selective breeding and sterilization became normalized as the population sought to eliminate "defectives" to gain a stronger population. As a result, the disabled population became viewed as the inferior Other, overlapping with racialized and gendered otherness. Views of the Other were reproduced in media and reinforced the negative association with the disabled body as an abnormality. Similar views extend to those labeled as "feebleminded," which was a coverall term for a range of mental illnesses and cognitive disabilities that did not have accepted definitions by medical professionals.

There are three distinct models of disability used by medical professionals, activists, and disabled people: medical, social, and cultural. Disability studies uses these models of disability as conceptual approaches to the subject matter (Berger, 25). The medical model views disability as the property of the body while excluding all social aspects of disability. The focus of this model is on diagnosis, prevention, and treatment or rehabilitation (Berger, 26-7). Shakespeare

(2006) presents a comprehensive examination of the history and pros and cons of the social 13 model of disability. The social model was an invention of the Union of Physically Impaired

Against Segregation (UPIS), who sought to reject the standard narrative and beliefs about disabled people. The purpose of this model is the interaction between disability, impairment, and the ideas of the medical model. It places the source of disability not within the body, but within social structures built to include only normative lives. Instead of relying on non-disabled people, or more medical treatment or charity, the model argues for advocacy similar to the Civil Rights movement. The main strengths of the model are similar to a political movement's, identification of issues, and improvement of self-esteem of the disabled community. Issues with the social model are the creation of a hierarchy between disability and impairment resulting in disagreements on who is disabled enough to be included in the model. There are still underlying issues that hinder disabled populations oppressed and in need of improvement (Shakespeare,

2006). The cultural model of disability draws from the phenomenon of Deaf culture, which emphasizes the disability and celebrates it as a group identity for those shared experiences

(Berger, 29). The cultural model is a different from the other models since it is started by those within the disability community and does not have the same biases of disabled and non-disabled that the other models have.

Riordan’s use of disabilities falls into the social model of disability. This is most apparent through the language used when talking about the disabilities within his narrative. Since there is no medication or talk of rehabilitation the medical model is not used by the author. The cultural model could be viewed as used when referring to the shared traits of ADHD and dyslexia that result in camaraderie among the demigods at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter.

Common Narratives

Cinema of Isolation (Norden, 1994) addresses the representation and impact of physical disabilities in movies. The author argues that stereotypes are malleable but remain negative due to the fear of disability held by the mass media audiences. The author uses historical time periods and analysis of film genres’ use of disability to support his conclusions. Perceptions of disability are linked to the isolation faced by those with disabilities. The author also provides summaries of common disabled character archetypes: obsessive angel, the sweet innocent, and the saintly sage. Riordan’s series do not have any of these key stereotypes as outlined by Norden (1994).

Rosemarie Garland Thomson's Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in

American Culture and Literature (1997) seeks to fill the gap in scholarship in physical body and representation in literature by addressing the topics and how they relate. The author's main purpose for writing this book is to define the physically disabled body as used in political, medical, cultural, and literary narrative exclusion through a postmodern frame. The author provides reviews of three eras of representation to support her findings: Freak Shows, mid-19th century protest novels, and 20th century African-American liberation novels. Garland Thomson concludes that disabled characters operate on the outskirts of a story as a side character whose disability acts a metaphor. The metaphor draws on cultural assumptions of disabilities to help the reader fill in the blanks of what is present in a story. For example, the disabled figure often acts as a call for justice or is presented to be a as a spectacle. Cultural assumptions factor into the construction of cultural identity and views of otherness. Since Riordan’s characters with disabilities are the main characters the common metaphors pointed out Garland Thomson (1997) are no present in his novels. 15

“Narrative Prosthesis” (Mitchell and Snyder, 2011) was a new term proposed by the authors to provide a new way of addressing the role of disabilities in story narratives.

“Prosthesis” is included in the new term due to its intercessions between literacy and the body.

The two intersect because of the languages used when telling narratives with disabled characters.

The author reviews stories that provide an understanding of how the term is to be used. In the stories reviewed, the disability marks a character that plays an essential role in the narrative. Due to the disability, the character becomes a narrative plot point allowing for the story to progress.

The narrative structure follows four steps. First, the deviance, also known as disability, is exposed to the reader. Second, the origins of the deviance are explained, and the consequences are given. Third, the disability is brought to the center of the story. Finally, other characters make attempts to rehabilitate or fix the disability in some way (Mitchell and Snyder, 53). In other words, the disability allows for identification by other characters and remains central to the story, which tell a different without the disability in place. Elements of Riordan’s work could fall into the Narrative Prosthesis model, but the disabilities in the stories never reach the final step of since the disabilities are never fixed in some way.

Crip Theory by Robert McRuer (2006) used a cultural studies background to combine both disability studies and queer studies. The author recognizes the similarities in the fields and uses contemporary history and political economy to show how elements of the theories are interwoven. The result was the author's coined term "compulsory able-bodiedness." This term builds off of the idea of compulsory heterosexuality, which is assumed to the be the only normal type of sexual relationships. Due to this idea heterosexuality becomes the default setting for a society and anyone who goes against it is non-compliant or deviant. Compulsory able- bodiedness is built on similar views, namely that able-bodiedness is the default for a person and 16 disability positions outside the normal view of the body. Both terms work on the view that people choice to be homosexual or disabled. Riordan’s series avoids the assumptions that people choose to be disabled or homosexual, since disability and homosexuality are presented as simply part of his characters’ identities. Since there is no indication that these elements of identify are deliberate choices by his characters, they are presented as simply themselves in that respect. Supercrip

Alaniz (2004) reviews the use of supercrip narrative in hero and supervillain storylines during the Silver Age of Marvel comics (1956-1970). After the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, conversations changed about disabilities in mass media, with the term supercrip being increasingly popular in mass media and academia. A supercrip is a disabled person whose superpowers erase the disability or are a direct effect of being disabled. These powers are seen as an overcompensation for a hero's physical impairment. The superpowers often result in erasing of the disability as the power replaces a disability “with raw power” (Alazniz, 2004).

Another type of supercrip Alaniz points to is an able-bodied person who is viewed as disabled once they obtain their superpowers. The most common example of this is The

Fantastic Four's Thing, who was an able-bodied man before gaining his superpower, in which his body becomes rock-like in appearance. So gaining superpowers results in an abnormal appearance in the case of the Thing. Other uses of the supercrip narratives for the supervillains of these comics often follow a Gothic tradition in which a character’s severely deformed body is a result of a

"deformity of soul." This means the actions and personality of the villain have a direct correlation to the body's appearance. The Fantastic Four’s supervillain Doctor Doom, is one such supercrip. Dr. Doom is marked as having harsh disfigurement that often results in Doom masking his face to hid the lack of imperfection he shows on his body. Alanzi concludes that the 17 use of supercrip narratives in mass media results in false expectations of a disabled person's ability to function and the disabled community as a whole.

Kama (2004) uses his communication background to performs ethnographic research interviewing disabled people in Israel about their views and effects of disability representation in mass media. Based on the interviews, the author determines that there are two main narratives perceived by the disabled audience supercrips and pitiful handicaps. Supercrip narratives often relate to disabled people’s achievements on several levels in personal life and society. The author argues that there are two forms of supercrips presented in mass media regular and glorified supercrips. Regular supercrips are illustrated by stories that praise a disabled person for achieving mundane accomplishments, which a non-disabled person views as being unattainable for the disabled person. These accomplishments included things such as a successful career or marriage and become viewed as "overcoming physical, social and cultural obstacles.” Glorified supercrips are those who perform highly extraordinary deeds such as climbing mountains or competing in the Paralympics Games. Consequently, these deeds often lead to the belief that physically impaired people can and should overcome their impairment through dedication and thus seen as defect. Failure to overcome is attributed to the disabled person's lack of willpower and dedication. The pitiful handicap narrative that triggers a sympathetic response to a person with disabilities. This type of narrative often results in the view that a disabled person cannot function without the pity and help of others since they are a below-average human. Kama concludes that these terms help point out how society should reconsider what and how the

“normal” body looks and functions.

Schalk (2014) builds directly on the work of Kama (2004), arguing that the supercrip has many contradictions since it has been used in newspapers, media, and academia, resulting in

18 many different and sometimes incompatible uses of the term. To clean up the confusion and provide a unified view, the author outlines three different categories of supercrips. The author maintains the definitions of regular and glorified supercrips as laid out by Kama (2004) and argues for the addition of the third category of “superpowered supercrip”. The superpowered supercrip is a disabled person who has abilities or powers which operate in direct relationship or contrast with their disabilities. Superpowers often compensate for the disability. This thesis will use Schalk’s (2014) terms when referring to the different types of supercrips used for analysis of

Riordan’s various characters. The main type of supercrip used will be the superpowered supercrip since Riordan’s characters disabilities often result in superpower-like explanations.

Representation

The word “representation” has three definitions from the Oxford online dictionary. First,

"the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented."

Second, "the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way." Finally, it refers to "formal statements made to an authority, especially so as to communicate an opinion or register a protest" (“Representation”). Stuart Hall briefly defines representation as "the production of meaning through language" (1997). Hall's definitions show the broader implications of language use when discussing or showing a character from a different cultural background from the primary audience of the reader. Language and the cultural meanings behind words are essential to understanding representation. To understand the meaning of language both spoken and written, one must understand the culturally specific meanings behind it (Hall, 1997).

Media portrayal and news stories of the disabled have been studied for their broad impact because of the language and imagery used by the media. Newspaper articles and news segments are often the focus of scholars to review how disabilities are being presented to an audience. 19

Zhang and Haller (2013) perform ethnographic research surveying disabled people on their feelings about how disabilities are portrayed in mass media and the impact on their lives because of the presentation. People in the study highlighted that the supercrip narrative form was often used by media outlets and provided an “over the top” perspective on the disabilities. Such representation can lead to unfair expectations of a disabled individual’s ability to do similar tasks to a superpowered fictional character. This expectation could result in feeling of being inadequate in their role as a disabled person in society. The authors conclude by stating that the hope of the study was to show how unjust representation can have a broader impact on the self- identity of a disabled person. Through different forms of storytelling the authors hope that in the future media outlets will consider telling different types of stories when talking about disability in order to better represent the diversity of both disabilities and people’s experiences of them.

Narrative forms used in media representation is called a trope which is “a common or overused theme or device” (Trope, Merriam-Webster). Tvtropes.org provides a comprehensive list of tropes used in media and narrative the disabilities list is broken into the standard disability tropes and disabled superpowers tropes. Disabled tropes have sixty-seven distinct trope types

(Disability Tropes). There are is one type relevant to the thesis “Obfuscating Disability.”

Obfuscating disability occurs when a character fakes a disability to gain something such as monetary support (Obfuscating Disability). For Riordan’s characters this trope is used to gain the perception of being a disabled mortal instead of a mystical creature. This will be discussed in

Chapter Three in greater detail as I analyze the characters Chiron, Grover, and Tyson. Disabled superpowers characters occur when one is born or becomes disabled and they develop a power that help compensate for their disability. This trope is broken into twenty-one different subtypes

(Disability Superpowers). The trope type relevant to this thesis is “Neurodiversity Is 20

Supernatural.” This trope occur when a neurological condition is the direct result of something supernatural being present in story’s narrative (Neurodiversity Is Supernatural). Riordan’s narrative of the demigod’s disabilities falls into this common troupe, as their disabilities are markers of their identity as demigods.

Stereotypes occur when “a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment” is presented (Stereotype, Merriam-Webster). Common imagery often comes from popular culture’s depiction of disabilities, where these stereotypes tend to be broken into seven types of constructions. First, a disabled person deserves one’s pity. Second, a disabled person cannot live a fulfilling life. Third, a disabled person is constantly sick and in pain. Fourth, people with disabilities have to be wheelchair users. Fifth, a person living with a disability is courageous and brave for living while being disabled. Sixth, a disabled person is helpless and dependent on others for support emotionally and financially. Finally, disabilities are to be feared

(Momene, 2015).

Brittain (2004) outlines what the author calls "The Six Pitfalls of Disability Fiction" when a character with disabilities is represented. First, the impairment is marked as other, where a disabled character is either good or evil. Second, impairment can be marked as "extraordinary," where a character is presented with either a positive or negative stereotype. Third, "the second fiddle phenomenon" is where the disabled character is relegated to side-character status and therefore remains underdeveloped. Fourth, the author of the book lacks appropriate research and representation of an impairment. Fifth, this disabled character remains the outsider who is isolated and alienated from the other characters. Finally, the author may negate a happy ending for those with impairments since the author has issues seeing one living in the future with an 21 impairment. Authors who use disability in their stories always have the potential to fall into the pitfalls of misuse of disabled characters.

Children's Literature

Children's literature as a genre poses many issues academically due to its mixed readership, the context, age of readers, and length of books. The addition of middle-grade readers and young adult books have created a further divide in what is considered children's literature

(Reynolds, 1, 27). The history of the genre is often linked to illustrations and the rise of fables, but as technology grew and authors explored different types of stories, the genre came to encompass more than just picture books (Lerer, 323). Continued growth resulted in the need to provide stories for different age groups with two of the most popular new genres being middle grade books and young adult literature.

Middle-grade books rose to fill the gap of age range between children literature, ages 0-8, and the young adult, ages 13-18. Middle-grade books typically offer third person narration with the main character age around ten and elements such as cursing, graphic violence, and sexual situations left out of the story telling. Common narrative forms such as coming of age, first love, challenges with school, and growth in self-confidence are used to help the reader who is experiencing similar things due to the similarity in age with the narrator (Writers Digs, 2014).

Young adult literature is often marketed towards readers within 13-18 age range and often feature stories that highlight the transition between adolescence to adulthood. Common narratives show a character’s self-growth outside existing friend groups and their family, ultimately gaining views of independence. Books in these genres do not have the same views of censorship of violence and sexual situations faced by middle-grade books. Because of that, main stories in the genre can take on tougher content to expose readers to different situations or help 22 them` work through their own trauma (Writers Digs, 2014). Rick Riordan’s books that are analyzed in this thesis fall into the middle-grade genre due to their marketing and suggested age range. Middle-grade books as a genre are often still grouped together with children’s literature in academic studies and books stores. Because of this, I will review studies of children’s literature which focus on the impact of disability representation on the readers to help draw my conclusions.

The conversation in the United States about the importance of exposing children to characters with disabilities reflects the significant changes in Disabilities Rights over the past fifty years. To explain this point, I will provide context for several events in the United States that changed the conversation about those with disabilities. The Education for All Handicap

Children Act of 1975 states that children with disabilities have the right to public education through full inclusion in classroom settings. The act resulted in the movement called mainstreaming as disabled children entered classrooms across the nation (IDEA, 2017). An important element for disabled students is Section 504. The section provides protection against discrimination and allowed for children with disabilities to enter the classroom with accommodation. Yearly evaluation under Section 504 requires conversation between school faculty and parents of disabled children to review accommodations (Durheim, 2010).

Section 504 led to several studies, which I will discuss shortly, published with the aim of listing disability readings or providing information on how to choose good readings to introduce children to some disabilities their new peers might have. The language used expressed a need for disability literature to help teachers in "preparing the other students in your classroom for these special need students" as mainstreaming gains headway (Fein and Ginsberg, 1978). As studies of the impact of disability representation increased, the variety of reasons to include representation

23 of disability in literature did as well. Hopkins (1980) reviews the three disabilities of blindness, deafness, and mental retardation that are used most frequently in stories and identifies the impacts that using the stories in classroom settings have on readers with and without disabilities.

Hopkins (1980) cites four main ways of stories with disability representation impact readers.

First, they help ease anxieties and fears of non-handicapped children when handicapped children enter the classroom. Second, children with handicaps might be able to identify with the themes or handicaps used in stories. Third, siblings of handicapped students can use stories to show what they go through with their siblings. Finally, handicapped children can read those stories for entertainment.

Conversations about disability rights continued and came to an apex in 1990 with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA extended the rights of all any individual with disabilities using public services and schools (Smith, 2001). The lives of approximately 50 million Americans were affected by these historical legislations. The social and cultural lives of those living with disabilities were impacted by the changes in transportations and buildings which now must have accessible seating, ramps, and, elevators.

The passing of this legislation, increased public awareness of disability issues as education, employment, health care, and government resources reached a level of accessibility that had yet to be met (Frieden, 2015). Each of piece of legislations helps to show the growth in public awareness which spawned a number of studies that looked at a range of topics. Conversations about disability and its representation in media forms are constantly shifting as disabled community seek acquired potential in media.

In the last few years the hashtag “#OwnVoices” has made a lasting impact on the content and authors in children literature and young adult novels. The hashtag grew from the “We Need 24

Diverse Books” movement that seeks representation by authors who identify as members of the ethnic group, cultural background, or disability presented in their novels. The hashtag became a shorthand marker for books with diverse topics actually written by those in the relevant community. Both movements have seen growth as readers and authors seek to have accurate portrayals of a number of topics (Whaley, 2019). This movement is growing to helping members of marginalized communities tell their stories without an unaffected author’s interpretation of the impact on the novels characters. This movement has come to include authors with disabilities who share elements of their disability with readers.

Chapter Conclusion

Historically, disabled people were placed on the periphery of society due to their disabilities contributing to their being viewed as the Other. Otherness created many narrative types, some of which are reviewed in this chapter, and has had broad impacts on representation.

Representation in media, both fictional and news stories have two primary impacts. First, the expectations of a disabled person are the main influences on non-disabled people. Finally, a disabled person's self-esteem is impacted by the media's portrayal of their disability. Since disabilities are often individualized media forms often fall into similar stereotypes and views of a disability

The commonly used type is supercrip narratives with regular and glorified supercrip narratives being the most common ones found in stories by news outlets and superpowered supercrips being the most commonly used in fictional narratives. Superpowered supercrips will be reviewed further in the next chapter since it is the narrative form that Rick Riordan uses in his middle-grade books. 25

CHAPTER TWO. THE USE OF DYSLEXIA AND ADHD IN RIORDAN'S GREEK AND ROMAN SERIES Introduction

Thecodpast.org is a website that aims to provide a context and network for people in the

21st century who are dealing with dyslexia (Mission). Their video titled "Dyslexia | A 21st

Century Superpower!" provides a scenario in which people are asked their dyslexic superpower.

The people featured have lighthearted answers to the question, but there remains a deep underlying theme present (Douglas, 2015). This disability, in particular, is often connected with a strong sense of creativity and viewi ng the world differently. ADDitude Magazine has similar lists as part of the magazine’s "Positive Parenting" sections. One such list enumerates the twelve

ADHD unique "superpowers" which help one with the disability. Emotional traits are the most common wit h the article touting compassion, empathy, acceptance of others, and a strong moral compass as strengths resulting from ADHD. Other positive traits highlight personality elements such as perseverance, multitasking, hyper-focus, sense of humor, imagination, and creativity.

Both articles show a trend I’ve noticed while doing research for this thesis. Many articles with topics of awareness and ai d for parents like those mentioned try to provide comparisons to superpowers or hidden talents to allow for positive views of the disabilities by counteracting common stereotypes.

Representations of both dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) offer different perspectives on disability in many media forms which allow for representations to get past the negative stereotypes of disabilities and possibly avoid the common pitfalls noted in the previous chapter. There are many representations of characters with dyslexia and ADHD or

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), who are given unique abilities to counteract their disability.

In this chapter, I will establish historical and modern views of both dyslexia and ADHD. 26

Through context and examples, I will analyze the representation of both of these disabilities in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and The Trials of Apollo book series, accompanying novellas, and different adaptation of the series. The learning disabilities are featured in all three series as a superpowered supercrip since the disabilities are manifestations of unique abilities. Dyslexia Historically, dyslexia was considered a disorder associated with aphasia. Aphasia is a neurological disorder that affects one's ability to speak, understand, and write language depending on the variant affecting a person. This understanding resulted in diagnoses under the general label of aphasia regardless of which form the disability took (Richardson, 1992). One of the first uses of what would become dyslexia is called "word blindness." Word blindness focuses on the subject's ability to read and write at an "easy child's book" skill level. However, researchers found that this disease is not connected to illness, injury, or head trauma but a congenital disease or disability as it would later be known (Morgan, 1896). As the years progressed, the criteria for dyslexia began to shift to more biological, cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences (Smythe, 2011).

Early definitions of dyslexia sought to fight the stigma that some children did not have the intellectual capacity to learn to read or write. There remains a difficulty in defining a disability that changes from person to person. Due to the variability of dyslexia, one has to undergo different tests throughout their lives to determine if they are dyslexic or non-dyslexic.

There are three primary test types used to assess reading comprehension, spelling, and arithmetic skills. First, the Woodcock Word Attack test, which evaluates word comprehension and recognition. Second, IQ tests are used to determine vocabulary and verbal memory, but recent studies show that there is little difference with those who have reading difficulties and those without. Finally, as more research about dyslexia was being done, it became clear that a 27 particular testing criterion was one's ability to decode words. This final common test type is done through timed or speedreading tests of word lists (Sigel, 2006). Over my lifetime, I was tested two additional times after my initial diagnosis to determine the level of accommodations I should be given in classroom settings.

Many organizations have sought to provide definitions and guidelines for what is and is not considered dyslexia. The most commonly used definition comes from The British

Psychological Society (1999):

Dyslexia is evident when accurate and fluent word reading and/or spelling develops very incompletely or with great difficulty. This focuses on literacy learning at the "word" level and implies that the problem is severe and persistent despite appropriate learning opportunities. To many, this widely-used definition leaves too much room for interpretation of what the disability is and is not. Since dyslexia is not a medical condition, diagnoses are dependent on the use of identification of symptoms and other criteria. Due to the lack of a universal definition regarded by the medical, scientific, and educational fields, there remains some debate on what dyslexia is (Smythe, 2011).

The Mayo Clinic defines dyslexia as “a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words decoding. Also called reading disability, dyslexia affects areas of the brain that process language.” Early symptoms can appear before a child enters school, including learning words slowly, talking late, and difficulty remembering names of people, colors and letters. Once a child enters school, symptoms can include lower reading level, difficulty remembering the right word for things, difficulty with patterns and sequence, and difficulty reading. A child with learning disabilities will often try to remove themselves from situations that would involve reading and 28 spelling. Teenagers and adults still experience similar symptoms to those of younger children

(Mayo Clinic Staff, 2017).

Sleeter (2010) provides historical context for the emergence of modern-day learning disabilities (LD) in the United States starting in the 1960s. She argues that the creation of LD as a disability reflects political, economic, and racialized views during the Cold War. Higher educational standards emerged during the Cold War as America competed with the standards in the Soviet Union. As the standards raised, many children could not keep up, which resulted in the need for a different way of viewing these children. Children fell into special needs categories of mentally disabled, slow learner, emotionally disturbed, and culturally deprived. Children who fell into these categories tended to be minorities and lower-class students who had limited access to education and cultural stimulation. The author argues that LD became defined by the white upper and middle-class because they did not want their children grouped into classes with those in the traditional categories.

Altieri (2008) provides an overview of four recurring themes in children’s books which feature dyslexia by reviewing four reoccurring themes. First, a scenario in which the learning disability is identified by family and friends before teachers noticed it. Second, the instructional methods are featured after a diagnosis of dyslexia with prominently featured additional tutoring using more technology and less additional help from family and friends. Third, the character with dyslexia often has lower self-esteem because they think there is something wrong with them.

This theme is often shown through environmental settings of the book that show a dyslexic character as the loner or bully of the school. Finally, teachers often present with negative or uncaring attitudes, or as not having enough time to help the student with dyslexia in addition to all the other students in their class. Altieri concludes that teachers and parents are responsible for 29 reviewing books with representation before giving them to children to make sure negative portrayals of the disability will not affect their understanding either their own disability or that of their peers who have dyslexia.

Smith-D'Arezzo and Moore-Thomas (2009) provided a study of surveying and interviews to determine the impact of LD representation in children's literature. The authors carefully chose two children's books, Do Bananas Chew Gum by Jamie Gilson (1980), and Egg-Drop Blues by

Jacqueline Turner Banks (1995), which present two boys with learning disabilities. Their study found that the children in the study had four identifiable views of the disability after reading the books and discussing the disability. First, LD is viewed as a defect, and the children affected just needed to work harder in order to succeed. The authors simplified that interpretation as those with LD were at fault for not learning what they should. Second, the disability is viewed as the fault of the student or their parents. The negative views of the parents are primarily focused on the child’s mother since she is often viewed as the main influence on the child. Third, student readers would often associate LD with limited mental capacity. Finally, an LD was seen as a personal characteristic which reflects negatively on the personality. The authors concluded that even though the children in the study are shown positive stories of LD they still maintained negative views of LD.

A similar study done by Wilkins et al. (2016) reviews children literature's portrayal of many disabilities, both physical and invisible. The authors argue that the inclusion of disability in children's literature could help children form different types of attitudes and perspectives towards people with disabilities. Many external forces, such as societal influences, teacher responses, parents' views, and the children's familiarity with the disabilities, all affect a child's overall view of the disability. The problem for the children in the study stems from the need to have a very 30 recognizable disability presented to allow for meaningful discussion. Invisible disabilities such as LD do not have visible physical markers like some of the other disabilities highlighted in this study. Due to the lack of distinguishable markers, such as wheelchairs or hearing aids, the invisible disabilities are still unidentifiable to the children in the study.

ADHD

Taylor (2011) provides a historical review of how ADHD was seen before being officially recognized in 1980. Early views of children (who most likely had ADHD) labeled those children as having a lack of control and morals. This view would later affect how researchers understood what they would call hyperactivity. In the 20th century, attributing hyperactivity to Minimal Brain Damage (MBD) became a popular term. MBD is a coverall term for neurodevelopment disorders such as LD and motor abnormalities. MBD was discarded in the

1960s to search for specific markers of the dysfunction by focusing on the psychological changes in the brain. This change in view allowed for the recognition of ADHD and Attention

Deficit Disorders (ADD). Although the ADHD disorders replaced MBD, there remain some underlining themes still present. Taylor (2011) acknowledges the limitations of ADHD since there is a lack of "universal" treatments and standards in defining ADHD.

The American Psychiatric Association defines ADHD through the three characteristics of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Inattention is the lack of maintaining focus.

Hyperactivity and impulsivity are grouped together due to their similarities; both focus on constant movement, physical and mental traits. Each characteristic has nine distinctive traits, of which six have to be met for a diagnosis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Disorders

(DSM) II (1968) used ADHD predecessor of Hyperkinetic Reaction of Childhood in relations to what become ADHD. This built off of Minimal Brain Damage to rid the current views of the vagueness in terms since it could also include other learning disabilities such as dyslexia. This 31 term places an impact on finding a better definition for hyperactivity by reviewing it as a standalone trait (Lange et al., 2010). Hyperkinetic reaction of childhood is defined as

“overactivity, restlessness, distractibility, and short attention span, especially in young children; the behavior usually diminishes by adolescence” (American Psychiatric Association, 1968).

The DSM-III (1980) introduced Attention Deficit Disorder without any use of hyperactivity. Hyperactivity was no longer essential for a diagnosis because by this time stimulate medication was being researched and prescribed as an effective treatment option. With the addition of ADD to the DSM the disorder started being viewed as having a hyperactive and non-hyperactive form. DSM-III-R (revised 1987) moved ADD to a subtype of Attention Deficit

Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The DSM-IV (1994) saw further revisions to ADHD and ADD.

Both were no longer exclusively associated as a childhood disorder allowing for people of all ages to seek a diagnosis. DSM-IV-TR (revised 2000) the ADHD definition remained unchanged even with the criticism that include adults in the affected age group instead of the children and adolescents only (Lange et al., 2010).The current edition of the DSM-V (2013) had minimal updates to the symptoms criteria (Epstein, 2013).

Englandkennedy (2008) provides an extensive study of Attention Deficit Disorders portrayed in popular media and how it reinforces negative and skeptical views of the disorder.

Once the disorders were recognized in the 1980s, the public remained skeptical. Most of the skepticism stems from the belief that ADD is overdiagnoses and overmedicated. The limited portrayals of ADD play and build upon the cultural views of the disorder and its stereotypes. The author argues that, through better representation of disabled characters, the models which are in motion can stop the cycle of stereotypes and misrepresentation. 32

Percy Jackson and the Creation of the Myth

The inspiration for the Percy Jackson series itself comes from a source close to the author, his oldest son, Haley. Haley has both dyslexia and ADHD, like the demigods who would come to star in his father's stories (Williams, 2010). Since Riordan was a middle school teacher, he had prior exposure to both dyslexia and ADHD, but his son's diagnosis had a substantial personal impact. His son had no interest in school, and due to Riordan's background as an educator, it was hard for him to accept that his son was not interested in school (Adlit, 2010).

Due to his son's interests in Gree k mythology, Riordan sought to provide new myths and characters for his son. Those characters became a way to explai n "the myth of how ADHD and dyslexia came to be" (Demigods and Monsters, VII).

Through the creation of Percy Jackson and other demigods with those disabilities, the books provide a new character type and perspective on those disabilities. As someone diagnosed with dyslexia since the third grade, the demigods in Riordan's world appealed to me. As a middle school student, I was an avid reader, but it was hard to find characters that I could identify with on a personal level. Once I discovered that the demigods had my disability, and were portrayed in a positive light, I was hooked. Although the series has a limited perspective of both disabilities, it does attempt to portray both disabilities in a positive light.

Rick Riordan's series Percy Jackson and the Olympians provides the readers with contemporary retellings of Greek myths. In this world, the Greek gods are alive, causing trouble, and havi ng demigod children. To the author, ancient Greek themes are found through 21st century ideas and practices such as architecture, culture, and even literature, which is why a world like this is not hard to imagine (Middleton, 2010). One such child is Percy Jackson, son of the sea god Poseidon. Upon arriving at Camp Half-Blood, the haven and training ground for demigods, he is confronted with an explanation for both his dyslexia and ADHD. Fellow camper 33

Annabeth Chase, daughter of the goddess of wisdom, Athena, can hone in on his troublemaker past and both of his diagnoses within seconds of meeting him because she, like most demigods, has the same ones. She explains that his dyslexia is because "[his] mind is hardwired for ancient

Greek" (Lightning, 88). His ADHD serves two purposes, one being his battle reflexes and the other is "because you see too much" (Lightning, 88). The final explanation references his ability to see through the mystical force of the Mist. The Mist hides the world of the Greek gods and monsters from the eyes of the mortals; as a demigod, Percy can see both worlds for what they are

(Sea, 45). This experience laid the groundwork for the myths of the disabilities for Riordan's son and those who would come to read his books.

This explanation of the disabilities extends past Percy to most of the demigods of Greek and Roman descent. On the author's official website, a post highlights the markers of a demigod, so that one might self-diagnose their "demigodism." The section of the website that addresses dyslexia acknowledges the difficulty one has when reading but also says dyslexia is "often found in extremely intelligent people who are fast and creative thinkers" (Read Riordan Staff, 2017).

This single line highlights and challenges the common stereotype that people with this disability are not intelligent. Riordan's books also reference this common stigma through Percy's view of

Annabeth Chase. Upon reaching a business where the sign is written in cursive so that both are unable to read it, Percy remarks, "she loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too"

(Lightning, 171). The ADHD section points out that both children and adults are diagnosed with the disorder. Its benefits are reinforced since it allows for a "constantly shifting focus alerting

[one] to any number of threats" (Read Riordan Staff, 2017). The specific usage of both disabilities will be explored further in the remainder of the chapter. 34

Series Synopsis

Percy Jackson and the Olympians consists of five books plus two novellas associated with the series, graphic novel adaptations of all the books, and a musical of The Lightning Thief.

This series is told from the single perspective of Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, the sea god.

The series follows Percy, who finds himself in the middle of a prophecy to prevent the Titan

Kronos from rising into the modern world. Throughout the book series and those that follow are

Greek myths, narrative types, and monsters in contemporary settings across the United States.

The Heroes of Olympus series is a five books series with one novella printed in association with the series and two graphic novel adaptations. The events take place immediately after the events of Percy Jackson and the Olympians as a new prophecy is set into motion. Camp

Jupiter, the Roman demi god training camp, is introduced along with Roman demigods and the

Roman Legion. Similar to their Greek counterparts, they are born of a godly parent and a mortal parent, yet, they can also be descendants of demigods due to the Roman camp's use of legacies.

The story follows the seven demigods of the prophecy that is made up of four from Camp Half-

Blood and three from Camp Jupiter. The Seven and others embark on a quest to defeat the earth goddess Gaea from waking and destroying the world. Their journey takes them to ancient Greece and Rome to the homeland of the waking giants.

The Trials of Apollo series is still in production currently with four published books and one novella. After the acts of one of Apollo's descendants nearly destroyed the Greek demigods’

Camp Half-Blood in the Heroes of Olympus series, Zeus casts Apollo down from Olympus as a punishment. Apollo's punishment is that he has to live life as mortal Lester Papadopoulos until he fulfills his quest to find and help restore all the places that hold his Oracles. Each book follows Lester and his demigod companions as they reclaim the sites of his oracles from the 35

Roman emperors who have lived on through the power given to them by the mortals’ retelling their stories.

There are four adaptions of Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus. The Trials of Apollo series has yet to adapted in some form because it is new and still ongoing. The Percy Jackson series has two feature films, a full graphic novel run, an illustrated edition of The Lightning

Thief, and a musical adaptation of the first book. Heroes of Olympus has just two graphic novel adaptations. The graphic novel and illustrated edition will be used for the visualization of the disabilities. The films and musical will address the dialogue/lyrics used to describe the disabilities.

Methods

My reference to the disabilities discussed above was grounded in a search of these keywords in the book series and novellas: dyslexia/dyslexic, ADHD, read, spelling, impulsive, focus, movement, disorder, and diagnosed. Due to the high frequency of use by Riordan when the disabilities were referred in the novels a majority of the references were located i n each of the series. I divided each quote type into three categories: "Meaningless spaghetti" for dyslexia reference, "ADHD posterchild" for ADHD references, and "Godling" for references of both disabilities. My quotes primarily come from the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series, with a few references from The Trials of Apollo. Some quotes will be drawn from this collection of quotes to emphasize my points and the continuation of the myth into the other series. The different adaptations were reviewed on a n individual basis for references to and representations of the disabilities.

"Meaningless spaghetti"

The use of dyslexia in the series places a strong emphasis on reading comprehension. The subheading phrase comes from Percy's description of not being able to read cursive embroidery 36 on cheerleader's uniforms (Labyrinth, 3). Four more quotes highlight this struggle for Percy to read cursive. To me this element reflects my own experience since cursive font to me remains largely incomprehensible. My knowledge of cursive only extends to what I need to know to sign my name. This might be reflective of my schooling because my school district in Texas exposed its students to cursive extensively only in the third grade. After third grade, it was left to the discretion of the teachers whether or not to continue using cursive in their lesson plans. My teachers for the fourth grade onward did not use cursive in any of the lesson plans. This lack of reinforcement of cursive led to me reteaching myself later in life as it became clear that I would need to be able to read cursive to work in university special collection archives.

The most commonly used reference type in Rick Riordan's series concerns reading comprehension. Examples of such phrases include "it took me a few minutes to decipher it," and the text was "in huge black letters that even I could read" (Sea, 111 and 141). The words in

Percy's mind do "one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards" (Lightning, 18). The other quote types focus on taking a while to read something or the letters being large enough for him to read without an issue. Although reading comprehension is a significant aspect of dyslexia, some of the other elements are left vague or left out altogether. The author makes little references to spelling difficulties. There are only a few instances in which that element can be explored because of the lack of a traditional school setting in the many books.

As Percy is exposed to Ancient Greek more, he realizes that the language was "no harder

[to read] than English" (Lightning, 107). Dyslexia became merely a justification for the demigods' minds wanting to read their godly parents' language. The shift between Greek and

English often presents itself in a common stereotype of floating words. This is most apparent in the film adaptions of the first to Percy Jackson books The Lightning Thief (2010) and Sea of 37

Monsters (2013). While Percy and his classmates are visiting the Ancient Greek exhibit at the

Metropolitan Museum, Percy looks at an artifact and the Greek writing blurs until it comes back into focus showing the English spelling of the artifact (Lightning, 00:11:00-00:11:50). For the films, this is the most common type of representation of the demigods' disabilities, which are repeated multiple times as they read Greek writing.

This becomes problematic because it emphasizes dyslexia just as a tool to relate to the

Greek gods. By extension, it reflects the common belief that dyslexia goes away over time as people grow out of it. This mindset affects me, as I needed to be tested every few years to make sure the dyslexia is still present. The coping mechanisms those with learning disabilities are taught and those they put in place themselves are overlooked by the author as is the case with most literature. For example, for me, the distinction between the abbreviation forms for tablespoon (Tbsp.) and a teaspoon (tsp.) was such as hassle when I was helping my parents in the kitchen that we took care to make sure the recipes and the spoons themselves were entirely written out. As I continued my education, there were many tips and tricks taught to me to offer a different way of doing things such as math and spelling. These copings mechanisms allowed me to do the same work as the non-LD students instead of struggling do it the same way the other students were. Coping mechanisms are slightly touched on with the character of Annabeth, who only reads in Ancient Greek instead of struggling to read English. As Percy becomes more familiar with Greek he starts to employ similar tactics (Lightning, 107).

"ADHD posterchild"

As discussed earlier, ADHD is broken down into three distinct characteristics: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. All three components appear in Rick Riordan's series.

My only personal experience with ADHD comes from a side comment given to me by a test giver who was examining my dyslexia. At the end of the exam, the test giver told me I could 38 have ADHD and should see a specialist if it ever becomes a problem that should be medicated. I personally never felt the need to have a diagnosis given to me. Due to a lack of connection to the disorder myself, I will analyze the quote types by the three diagnostic characteristics.

Inattention centers on the inability to maintain focus and overlooking details due to multiple stimuli around the person. This appears in the books through the use of the Mist as it hides and shifts items from the demigod's view. During Percy's first battle, he is drawn into a secluded place by his teacher Mrs. Dodds, and suddenly she has moved very fast from one place to another. Percy said, "the school counselor told me this was part of my ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things" (Lightning, 11). Given the context of the stories, the Mist is the primary reason behind a demigod's inability to focus. The Mist serves three purposes in the series. First, it hides or masks perceptions of the Greek world from the demigods early in age until their powers start emerging around age twelve. Secondly, it could also hinder their ability to fully understand what is happening around them. Finally, the Mist prevents mortals from seeing the mythical world.

This final point is prevalent when the character Tyson is introduced in the second novel.

Tyson was always a cyclops, but the Mist and Percy's inability to see through it meant that he perceives Tyson as a homeless teenager. It takes Annabeth to call it to Percy's attention for him to truly see Tyson (Sea, 45). This view contrasts with the other elements of disabilities as a superpower in away. Since the other factors help a demigod to understand Greek or have enhanced battle reflexes, the inability to focus is presented in an unfavorable view. The demigods' inability to figure out if a person is a monster or not often puts them in harmful situations as monsters can remain hidden from the demigods they are attacking. This is often reinforced when a demigod focuses hard on someone or something that might not be as it

39 appears because the Mist in involved. In some cases, a monster has to reveal itself before a demigod truly understands that they are a monster. Dr. Thorn is a monster who works at a middle school that demigods go to and when Thaila, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth interact with him he goes along with them by presenting himself as a mortal. Once the fighting begins Dr. Thorn reveals that he is a Manticore, but for the demigods it is too late since Percy was quickly injured by his poisonous tail (Titans, 4, 17-27).

There are no mortals with the same disabilities that are explicitly shown in the novels when there are interactions between the mortals and demigods. Since the shared trait of all demigods is dyslexia and ADHD in relations to their powers from a godly parent, it remains unclear if there are mortals with those disabilities. It remains unclear if mortals with ADHD would have the same confusion and the clarity to see through the Mist. Since a demigod’s

ADHD acts differently than a mortal’s the Mist most likely would not have the same effect. As part of a demigod’s ADHD, they gain the ability to see through the Mist at times and can even learn to manipulate the Mist to their own advantage. The ability to see through the Mist is connected to the trait of inability to focus since a demigod’s surroundings often blurs when elements of the two worlds overlap. Since mortals are supposed to remain hidden from the mystical world the same blurring of the two worlds would not happen for a mortal.

The Mist can be seen through by some mortals featured in the series. The most notable characters with this trait are Sally Jackson and Rachel Dare. Riordan refers to a mortal with the ability to see through the Mist as a “clear-sighted mortal” or one having “true sight” (Labyrinth,

279 and Last, 306). Sally Jackson is Percy Jackson’s mother and is noted as being able to see through the Mist when she meets Poseidon. When Percy’s parents met, Sally was able to see that

Poseidon was holding his trident, which is his weapon of power, whereas a mortal without clear- 40 sight would have interpreted it as something non-magical such as a walking stick or a baseball bat (Labyrinth, 244). During the battle with the minotaur, she is able to make out the monster well enough to give Percy and Grover instructions to help them defeat it (Lightning, 51). Rachel

Dare is first introduced when Percy tries to use the Mist to mask his sword as something that is not there. She was also able to identify the monsters which were chasing Percy and help him escape (Titians, 212-15). Due to her uncanny ability to see through the Mist she was able to help

Percy, Annabeth and Grove navigate Daedalus' Labyrinth. Rachel is able to see all the tricks and traps through the Mist as well as the marking on the floor indicating the correct path, which the demigods themselves could not see (Labyrinth, 279). After the Battle of Manhattan, the reason for Rachel’s clear sight is revealed. Rachel is able to host the spirit of the Oracle of Delphi, which allows her to recite prophecies from the gods (Last, 365-68). Rachel believes that her ability to see through the Mist has a direct connection to her fate to become the new host the of spirit of Delphi (Last, 368). Both these mortals have an ability to see through the Mist but it remains unclear if either character has ADHD. It is never brought up in relation to these characters. Since Rachel Dare was fated to becoming the vessel for the spirit of Delphi, her ability to see clearly through the Mist is related to her fate. Sally states that her ability to through the Mist was easier when she was younger (Titians, 212-15). For both characters, Riordan never fully explains how and why they could see through the Mist.

The role of the Mist has a different connotation in the film adaptation of the novels. The

Mist is not used until the second movie and the explanation remains different from the source materials. The film version of Sea of Monsters mentions the Mist as something that can be contained; it actually comes in a spray bottle that is a rare commodity. Annabeth gives her only bottle to Tyson to hide his single eye, making it appear as two eyes while the magic hold is in

41 effect (Sea, 00:32:15- 00:33:01). This is different from the books, where the Mist is described as being all around the mortal world; in the films, it appears in isolated instances for those who have access and the ability to pay for it. Another scene that might establish the use of the Mist in the films is when the questers visit a coffee shop where mythical creatures work. One worker who has multiple arms has an intricate handshake with Grover, and when a mortal character looks up he only sees the worker as having only two arms (Sea, 00:38:18-00:38:25). These interactions lacks an explanation to the film-viewing audience, but highlight how Mist could affect the vision of those interacting with mortal world. For the films, ADD remains underrepresented since it only is referred to in the demigod explanation for both disabilities.

Hyperactivity and impulsivity are evaluated together as traits of ADHD due to their similarities. The main traits are constant movement, lack of control, and the tendency to talk a lot. Most of these quotes focus on the battle reflexes aspect of the myth of disabilities Riordan has created. When battling Ares, the god of war, Percy describes his changes in reflex as his

"senses working overtime…I was wide awake, noticing every detail" (Lightning, 328). These elements of ADHD help to keep demigods alive in battle. Their fidgeting nature allows for fast movement and reflexes in a battle setting. The presentation of this aspect of these traits typically negative characteristics in a positive light.

YouTube content creator How to ADHD outlines the differences in views and diagnoses between boys and girls in her video titled “ADHD In Girls”. She highlights the few articles that have been published on the subject matter. These articles are publicly accessible and published within the last four years (“How to ADHD”, 2016). This led me to see if there are other publications on the subject matter of the differences between the sexes for ADHD. Jacobson

(2019) outlines the often missed and different ADHD symptoms that tend to be overlooked when 42 diagnosing girls. One such item is that girls tend to present ADHD in different ways and frequently later than boys. The rate of boys and girls affected are equal, yet boys have a higher diagnosis rate. One reason is that girls do not typically present the classic hyperactive form of

ADHD. Girls lean more toward presenting as inattentive, easily distracted, and exhibiting poor time management. Jacobson concludes that ADHD is no longer a childhood disorder and should stop being diagnosed based only on whether ADHD presents itself in a disruptive way. Boys who have ADHD are often diagnosed since they are viewed as disturbance to the class while girls are seen as daydreamers due to inattention and outside stimulation.

The points in these studies also reflect Riordan's use of ADHD in his series. There are thirty-six ADHD specific quotes, but only two are in relation to female characters. The first quote is Percy, talking about Annabeth: "I let her go. I knew how it felt to be restless. All demigods had attention deficit problems because of our inborn battlefield reflexes. We couldn't stand just waiting around" (Titans, 163). The other quote comes from the point of view of Piper in The Mark of Athena: "she forced herself to focus" (Mark, 133). These traits contrast the most

ADHD character, Leo Valdez, the son of Hephaestus. The description of the ship used to travel had so many moving parts that only Leo knows how to work them. This observation results in

Annabeth's remark, "even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD" (Mark, 4-5). Leo's main characteristics are his hyperactivity and hyperfocus when working on an invention or project. Leo's main characteristic is he always has some type of project in his hands that he is fidgeting with. His ADHD becomes to a catalyst for the building of the ship, The Argo II, with the intricate steering wheel and controls that only Leo can fully understand (Mark, 4-5). Riordan has never addressed the particular use of ADHD in relations to gendered difference, and because of that it is hard to say if the author intentionally represented ADHD in girls that way or 43 unknowingly did so. His experience with ADHD in the classroom and his own son’s diagnosis might have swayed the way he presents this disability, but it is hard to tell without him explicitly addressing the topic.

The closest we get to the inattentive element of ADHD is with the character Hazel

Levesque. Hazel was brought back from the Underworld after her death in 1942. Due to her time displacement she often blacks out into her memories of the past. Whenever Hazel focuses on her past life she blackouts until the memory is done replaying or she is suddenly snapped out of it

(Son, 69, 80). Hazel’s events are similar to daydreaming since she loses her grasp on her surroundings and falls fully into memory. Daydreamers often fall into a make-believe land, which acts as an escape from the setting they are currently in. Those children often have to be engaged with their surroundings in different ways than before (Redford, 2018). Similar to daydreamers, Hazel becomes detached from her surroundings and cannot pay attention to her real-world situation, which can put her in danger. Daydreaming remains the only example of inattentiveness used by Riordan. Once she comes out of the vision, readers get to see how Hazel appears to be day dreaming by the reactions of those around her. Her brother Nico remarks “you did it again” (Son, 80). These episodes are reminiscent of daydreaming since she becomes fully detached to those who are trying to get her attention. In the books those daydreams are told from her point of view and allow the reader to see her vision.

Another interesting element of the portrayal of ADHD used by Rick Riordan is the lack of medication when it comes to the demigods. Overmedication, as well as over diagnosis, remains one of the largest negative cultural stereotypes affecting those with Attention Deficit

Disorders (ADD) (EngladKennedy, 2008). The materials and interviews reviewed for this thesis never had any hints as to why Riordan chose to do so. In the myth the author created, it could be 44 inferred that the demigods did not need to be medicated. Since one of the core reasons to have those heightened reflexes is that they help keep the demigods, who are under constant attack from monsters alive. They are safer in Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter, where there are magical barriers, than when they are in the outside world on quests. Demigods need to fully engage in their abilities in order to stay alive, which is a different scenario from being in a traditional classroom setting where the necessary skills are to sit still and focus. The use of medication would also have a negative impact on the lives of demigods since it would weaken the main trait that is a result of ADHD their battle reflexes. A demigod’s battle reflexes help keep them alive when battling monsters and medication has no place in the narrative Riordan uses for ADHD.

Stimulant medication has been used for nearly 80 years in the treatment of ADHD and saw rapid growth in the 1990s. An estimated 70% of children and adolescents with ADHD use stimulant medication as the main treatment for their symptoms. Due to the high use of medication and the United States’ stigma against mental disorders, there is a heightened stigma against the use of medication (Hinshaw and Scheffler, 2014). Riordan might have chosen to not use medication in the books for the demigods to potentially show two points. First, not all cases of ADHD need to be medicated. This point is further extended by the author since medication would be a thing which within his narrative world dampen demigod’s superpowered abilities.

Second, it is possible that to Riordan sought to avoid a potentially controversial topic. It should be noted that parents such as the character Piper’s father Tristen MacLean, who are unaware of their child’s demigod statues still did not put their children on any medication for their ADHD.

"Godling"

This quote comes from an interaction Percy has with Charon, the ferryman of dead souls

to the underworld, who can identify him as a demigod not because of his smell, which is often 45 brought up, but rather based on the fact that he was unable to read Charon's nametag correctly

(Lightning, 286). In the context of this quote and similar quotes, these disabilities are just markers of who demigods are rather than being coded as particularly negative or positive. Many events within the series use the disabilities and the references to them solely as indicators of parentage as opposed to highlighting elements of the disabilities themselves.

The character markers of demigods through their disabilities continue into Rick Riordan's

Heroes of Olympus series, which has both Greek and Roman demigods. Like their Greek counterparts, both ADHD and dyslexia play the same roles in relation to the Roman demigods.

In the second book of the series, Son of Neptune, the readers are introduced to two new Roman demigods, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang. When they are discussing their disabilities with

Percy, each has a different perspective on dyslexia in particular. Hazel, daughter of the god of the Underworld Pluto, is a demigod brought back to life from 1942 to the present day. Due to her displacement in time, her view of dyslexia reflects a historical perspective. To her, those with dyslexia were just called "lazy," and she herself never got a diagnosis as a child. Frank, on the other hand, is the only acknowledged demigod not to have dyslexia and ADHD. Instead, "all [he] got is lactose intolerance" (Son, 97). This distinction between Frank and other demigods is not explored in the other novels. Frank offers a different sense of othering. Since Frank does not fit the traditional markers of being a demigod, he is marked as different by them. Ironically, Frank is the inverse of how disabilities tend to be seen.

Frank is a child of Mars, who is also a descendant of Argonauts. The Argonauts are a band of heroes from Greek mythology who traveled on the Argo with Jason. Frank’s heritage includes different bloodlines of Roman, Greek, and Chinese descent. Due to his mixed bloodlines Frank has some of the demigod traits from his father, Mars Roman god of war, and

46 others that reflects his bloodline of Argonauts. His strongest and most unusual power is his ability to shapeshift into different animals. This trait was also held by his mother and grandmother and has been passed down in the family for generations (Son, 370-72). Yet, because of his mixed bloodlines, he does not have the shared traits of all the other demigod of ADHD and dyslexia in the books. He feels like an outcast to an extent because he is “probably was the only non-dyslexic spelling champion demigod in the world, as if he weren’t enough of a freak already” (Son, 356). The absences of these two traits make him feel like an outsider since he cannot relate to a trait that all the demigods around him have. Frank provides an inverse of a common view of the disabilities. Children with disabilities tend to be alienated from their peers in a number of ways, including take exams elsewhere or having extra tutoring instead of recess.

Frank, on the other hand, is envious of those who have the disabilities and are clearly marked as demigods.

Another trait that Frank highlights is the common views of one “not disabled enough” to ask for accommodations or for a seat on public transportation. This view is often an indication of the hierarchy of disabilities. The disability hierarchy is a socially constructed view that places non-disabled people on the top and then seemly ranks disabilities based on the perceived negative impacts on life from different disabilities (Nichols, 2019). Frank provides an inverse of these views since he is not disabled and therefore does not fit in with his peers who all have the traits. Since the shared intellectual disabilities serve as marker to those within the demigod group

Frank is on the outskirts of the community. Because of his lack of disabilities he has to work to fit in with the others.

The same narrative for the disabilities is used. The only difference comes from the films’ use of ADD instead of ADHD (Lightning, 00:23:00-00:25:00) The graphic novels only talk 47 about ADHD in dialogue since it is an invisible disability and thus harder to show in a visual format. References to dyslexia in the graphic novel and illustrated edition take the form of blurring words and mixing the Greek and Western alphabets (Lightning Graphic Novel, 5).

Since all the adaptations use the disabilities in their basic form as laid out by Riordan in the original novels, the different adaptations do not stray too far from the source materials.

The markers of the demigods’ disabilities have translated into the fandom. The fandom name is the Demigods, just like the characters of the books. On YouTube, there is a small community of producers called "BookTube." The phrase refers to those who provide content based on books, including things such as challenging, reviewing, buying hauls, and reenactments or parodies of scenes from books. One such content creator is abookutopia. In 2015, she posted a video titled "My Dyslexia Story…". The video highlights her own experience as an avid reader who has been diagnosed with both dyslexia and ADHD. Many commenters either share their personal experiences or talk about being a demigod. Due to the content of abookutopia's channel, it can be inferred that the primary audience can be presumed to be readers like the producer. The comment section highlights the prevalence of disabilities as the narrative for the demigods and by extension, those who have disabilities. Some fans who have disabilities have adapted demigods to be used as a different marker for their disabilities.

The genetic link between dyslexia and children who have it often results in mixed answers to the question of whether there is a genetic link since it often is not directly passed from parent to child. Yet, there is a higher frequency of parents who have it having children who also have it. In many cases, the ability to read is not solely based off genetics but also the environment a child is exposed to (Dorta, 2019). The genetic link for ADHD is highly dependent, with many studies still uncertain of the cause of the disorder in general. Many studies 48 highlight the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among families, showing how members of the same family could have it while others do not exhibit the disorder’s distinct traits. Similarly to dyslexia ADHD can also be impacted by environmental factors, such as slow-paced classroom settings and pollution, while one is growing up (Silvar, 2019). In the Heroes of Olympus novels, readers are introduced to the idea of legacies within the legion, that is people whose ancestors were once demigods in the Roman legion but the members themselves might be descendants of a demigod instead of being a direct result of a godly and mortal parent (Son, 44-5). These descendants maintain some of the traits of a demigod, including their powers, while also having the disabilities that mark them as a descendant of the gods.

Chapter Conclusion

Apollo as the mortal, Lester, lacks both the disabilities of the demigods. Apollo recognizes that this is something faced by the demigods, even though it does not affect him.

Apollo remarks, "I read the store sign again. On second look, I realized the name was not

MARCO. It was Macro. Perhaps I'd developed a bit of the demigod dyslexia simply from hanging around them too long" (Maze, 51). By this point in the universe of Riordan's books, the disabilities have been well established within the narrative provided, but they have also become minimized and relegated to side comments which do not provide realistic views of the learning disabilities. Having a former god now mortal as a narrator, provides an outsider view since

Apollo never had to deal with either disability.

Through Riordan's creation of the myth of disabilities, the author presented them in a different light than customarily viewed. By having most of his heroes have learning disabilities, it helps highlight the positive and sometimes overlooked elements of the disabilities. Yet, the representation of both disabilities provides a limited view because of the similarity in reference types. As the series progresses, the references to the disabilities steadily fall, with the first novel 49 having the most as the author seeks to establish the world. The justification of the disabilities as their demigod traits present both negative and positive views of the disabilities. Dyslexia becomes underwritten as the trait that was there to read to Ancient Greek, while ADHD is presented in two main characteristics; vision affected by the Mist and the need for battle reflexes.

The saving grace for the author's representation is the most positive portrayal of the demigods and the personal connections the readers have with the series. As a reader, the personal relationship I gained to the characters with dyslexia made a lasting impression.

The next chapter will address two main subjects regarding representation of disability within Riordan’s narrative universe. Frist, I analyze the use of disabilities a disguise for mythical creatures to interact with the mortal world. There are several major characters who perform disability in order to pass as mortal and not be recognized as the mythical creatures they are.

Mist is unreliable and these performances allow for another layer of disguise. Second, I review the further elements that have an impact on the lives of demigods. These are not technically disabilities (smell, technology sensitivity, and fatal flaws), but they can impair the demigods, all of whom share these traits. 50

CHAPTER THREE. PASSING AND REVEALING: HOW CHARACTERS PERFORM DISABILITY TO MOVE BETWEEN THE MYTHICAL AND MORTAL WORLDS

Performing Disability

This chapter analyzes the other two primary of the other uses of disability in Rick

Riordan's Greek and Roman retellings. The first section addresses the use of disability as a disguise that enables mythical creatures to pass as mortals in the human world. I focus on two characters, Chiron and Grover, who use the guise of physical disabilities to spas s a human, and

Tyson, who uses an intellectual disability to pass as human. All three characters hide behind their use of perceived disabilities in order to engage within the mortal world and with mortal understandings of the world.

The first section will address the characters’ use of passing. Passing in the disabled community, often "refers to the way people conceal social markers of impairment to avoid the stigma of disability and pass as "normal" (Brune and Wilson, 1). When one talks about passing,

“normal” indicates a non-disabled individual. This view would then mark those with visible disabilities as the Other. Yet, these characters perform the inverse of this performance since the disability is what marks them as normal instead of being a mythical creature. Disabled people are thus seen as part of normalcy. This narrative states directly that it is perfectly normal to interact with someone in the mortal world in a wheel chair, with crutches, or with an intellectual disability. It would be abnormal to interact with a satyr, cyclops, or other mythical creatures in the mortal world.

The second section of this chapter provides further analysis of the demigods who have their lives impaired by their godling status. I will provide an analysis of three main characteristics that impact their lives beyond their ADHD and dyslexia. These traits are the scent of demigod, inability to use technology, and fatal flaw. These traits move past the characteristics 51 of dyslexia and ADHD, which are coded as positive and related to special abilities and powers, to the metaphorical disabilities of these three traits.

"I prefer to stay in human form."

This quote comes from an interaction between Chiron, the centaur, and a new demigod camper to Camp Half-Blood. Chiron explains that for the first meetings with new campers, he likes to be in his magical wheelchair that compresses his horse features and thus allows for him to pass as human (Titans, 61). This section will examine Chiron, the satyr Grover, and the cyclops Tyson, all of whom perform disability in the mortal realm in order to hide their non- human features. Chiron uses a wheelchair to manage his height difference and his "real horse's ass" (Lightning, 00:25:00-00:27:00). Grover uses an unnamed muscular disease that exempts him from activities such as PE classes that would expose his furry hide quarters because of the required uniform of shorts. The film adaptions take this performance further by giving Grover crutches which he later exposes as being “just for show” in the mortal realm, and in fact, a useful weapon for fighting monsters (Lightning, 00:17:45-00:18:00). Tyson is a unique character who is viewed as having an intellectual disability due to his behavior and estimated age. Tyson is a cyclops, so his body matures faster than humans, which results in mortals perceiving him to be older than he is. These characters were chosen due to their use of imposed disabilities to fit into the mortal realm.

The quotes were located through two different keyword searches. Chiron and Grover quotes were determined usi ng the same keyword search. The keywords used tio f nd the quotes are "hooves," "fake feet," "wheelchair," and "satyr," or "centaur." Tyson was kept separate because of his difference from the other characters in this section. The keywords used to locate his quotes are "Tyson," "cyclops," and "cyclopes." Since Tyson is a minor character, it was easier to search for his interactions and particular mentions by other characters. 52

Chiron

Chiron is first introduced as Percy's Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner, who is a wheelchair user who Perch and other mortals believe to be paralyzed from the waist down. In reality,

Chiron the centaur was making "a house call to a potential camper" due to Grover's suspicion that Percy is a powerful demigod, due to his remarkably strong scent (Lightning, 64-65). Due to this, he had to hide the fact that he was a centaur by using a wheelchair. Upon Percy's arrival at

Camp, Chiron's true nature is revealed. Chiron and the Camp director Mr. D, Dionysus the God of Wine, are there to greet him. He is still in his wheelchair, but to Percy's amazement, he starts to shift in his seat. Percy describes this reveal as: "His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear, but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle, and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic because there's no way it could've held all of him. A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached (Lightning, 74)." The graphic novel versions of the books show Chiron in both his human and centaur form. When coming out of the wheelchair, Chiron's body shimmers as his horse legs start to rise of the chair

(Lightning Graphic Novell, 25). Throughout the multiple series, Chiron utilizes his human form in different scenarios. Most commonly, he uses the wheelchair because it allows him to have interactions with humans and new campers without overwhelming them too much with his centaur body. Chiron further explains his use of the wheelchair as wanting to appear "closer to human size" (Oracle, 94). This human form charade also continues with the next character of discussion, the satyr Grover.

The film adaptions only use the wheelchair disguise for the first film, since the second film only featured Chiron at Camp where the disguise is not needed. Chiron uses the wheelchair 53 while undercover at Percy’s school Yancy Academy. Once Percy is at Camp he sees a group of centaurs running in a field and one centaur veers off towards the waiting Percy and Grover. The centaur approaches and Percy instantly recognizes him as Mr. Brunner. Chiron proclaims that he has “a real horses ass” and that he had to hide his form so he could keep an eye on Percy while at Yancy Academy (Lightning, 00:25:00-00:27:00). This interaction was used to help Percy and the audience process what is happening as the world around them becomes more mythical.

Grover

As a regular teenager, Grover is described as "an easy target," "scrawny," and "crippled" with "some kind of muscular disease in his legs" (Lightning, 3). Grover performs this charade like most Greek satyrs who work undercover at schools across the nation to find potential demigods, protect them, and take them to the safety of Camp Half-Blood. Within the series

Grover and Coach Hedge perform the job of protector. It is implied that satyrs are stationed around the nation who also perform this task for Camp-Half Blood. Satyrs pass as human by covering their hooves with human shoes, wearing hats to cover their horns, and pants to cover their hairy legs (Lightning, 150). Another trait that has mortals questioning Grover is the description that he seems to be going through puberty well before his peers, indicating to them that he may have been held back a grade in school. The opposite of cyclopes, satyrs age physically slower than mortals allowing for them to go undercover at schools for multiple years to look for potential demigods (Ultimate, 49). Grover’s age led him to being on the only sixth grader with acne and the wisps of a coming beard (Lightning, 3). Grover only appears in his mortal form while interacting within the mortal world on quests.

The Roman version of Grover’s species is fauns. The fauns of Camp Jupiter do not do the tasks of seekers or protectors like their Greek counterparts. Instead, the fauns are viewed as free loaders and nuisances who live off the support of Roman Legion. Fauns do not have the 54 same interactions in the mortal world and do not perform the same human disguises as the satyrs. Fauns are generally viewed by the Roman Legion as useless except when they are helping the sick and wounded after a battle.

Grover does not go on the main quest with the demigods of the new prophecy in the second series, Heroes of Olympus. His role is minimized to mentions and appearances in visions had by other demigods to help Riordan establish the events going on outside the quest. Grover’s role of protector of the questing demigods is filled by fellow satyr Gleeson Hedge in this series.

In the Trials of Apollo series, Grover has a major role as he helps Apollo/Lester on his quest in the Palm Springs area. He is in the area on behalf of the Council of Cloven Elders to help the local nature spirits during a drought. Since Grover’s only interactions are with those who are also from the mythical world Grover does not disguise his goat traits in the later series.

The two film adaptations by 20th Century Fox are Lightning Thief (2010) and Sea of

Monsters (2013). In these films, Grover, played by actor Brandon T. Jackson, has Grover using crutches when in a school and mortal world setting. The graphic novels and book series never give him crutches since the role of his disability was never fleshed out past that description of how he has an “unknown muscular disease” (Lightning, 3). In the films, Grover’s crutches help sell the disabled narrative while also providing a weapon against monsters since he frequently uses them as a distraction or to hit an attacker. The film version of Grover takes offense when his perceived weakness given by the assumption his physical disability led to this conversation between Grover and Percy. Grover proclaims that he is Percy’s protector and Percy finds it hard to believe:

Grover: “What you think because I’m like this I’m not capable of keeping you safe?” 55

Percy [gesturing up and down Grover’s body]: Maybe you aren’t seeing what I’m seeing.

You have crutches!” (Lightning, 00:15:00-00:15:20).

The disability Grover performs leads most to view him as someone who is weakened due to a physical disability. Later in the film, Grover throws the crutches away to get ready to run from the monster, saying that his crutches “are just for show” (Lightning, 00:17:45-00:18:00). For the film’s version of Grover, the crutches are there to provide a visual aid reinforcing that he is a human with a disability. This disability allows him to engage, undetected as a mythical creature, within the mortal world. In a way, Grover and the other satyrs who use similar tactics, pass as normal through the use of a disability.

In the terms of passing, those with muscle disease are often met with unfair expectations due to the impact of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). FDR was a polio survivor who worked on a carefully constructed image to mask the effects of polio on his body. This seemingly successful performance resulted in expectation from doctors, families, and friends that those impacted in similar ways could be the same way regardless of the lasting physical and mental tolls the disease took on patients (Wilson, 13-14). The films’ addition of crutches to further the unnamed disability could play on the views of muscular disease in the wake of polio.

The source materials also highlight the trouble Grover seems to have when walking, as the very first description of the character was that was “he walked funny, like every step hurt, but don’t let that fool you. You should’ve seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria”

(Lightning, 3). Early in the series readers get the idea that Grover’s unnamed muscular disease has more to it than him just being “crippled” (Lightning, 3). It makes him appear weak, but once the crutches and fake shoes are off, Grover is quite nimble on his goat legs, being able to run and climb more quickly and safely than most humans. 56

The use of the word “crippled” appears in the first series only. Cripple is no longer viewed as an appropriate term when talking to or about a person with disabilities (“Appropriate

Terms”). The terminology when referring to a person with disabilities constantly shifts to address negative impacts, historic context, and changes headed by those within the community.

The use of “cripple” often indicates a derogatory attitude toward the person it used to refer to.

Yet, terms can have different impacts on disabled individuals who are trying to express why they want to be called one term over the other (Rooke, 2015). Since the statement comes from the point of view of Percy, it is likely that the character and the author did not know or mean for the use of the word “cripple” to be taken offensively. Additionally, since Grover is performing the disability and is not actually a member of the disabled community, he likely does not have preference in terminology used when talking about his disability or does not have the knowledge about the terms used when talking about disability.

Tyson

The character Tyson has a different relationship with disability than either Chiron or

Grover. Instead of using a disability to pass as human in the mortal world, mortals have actually assigned him a disability in order for them to make him fit into their world, without ever fully comprehending who he is. Tyson is introduced in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of

Monsters as a classmate of Percy's. His character, from the start, is marked as different from those around him. As a scholarship student at Percy’s new school, Meriwether Prep, Tyson is viewed mainly as a community service project. Despite his imposing size, he's a "big softie," a characteristic that attracts many bullies to pick on him (Sea, 9). Percy's and Tyson's relationship at the school was already fully developed because the book starts at the end of the school year.

Since Tyson is the focus of bullying behavior and Percy is an outsider, they rely on each other, which gives Percy a sense of protectiveness towards the bigger boy (Sea, 13). This protection 57 extends to both physical and verbal bullying at the expense of Tyson. Matt Sloan, the resident school bully, is the main instigator of such events. Sloan’s bullying comes to head when he remarks “I bet they can pay the tuition, too, unlike your retard friend” (Sea, 13). Percy immediately jumps to defend Tyson saying that he is not a retard. The graphic novel adaptation of the scene still keeps the use of the derogatory term even thought it was published in 2013 by this point this term was clearly determined to unacceptable (Sea, 2013). The film released, also in 2013, does not use the term when referring in any way to Tyson (Sea, directed by Thor

Freudenthal).

When the book was published in 2006, the more recent movements to reclaim the word as well as to ban its use by members of the autistic community had yet to happen. The most notable of the community-led movements is Spread the Word of Inclusion. This group was founded in 2009 on the basis of stopping the use of the “R-word” as an exclusionary term which hurts members of the community (About Spread). Retard, a short-hand of Mental Retardation, has been used as a negative term for those with intellectual disabilities. Use of the word would come to evoke the negative stereotype of a retard being stupid and slow. In 2010, President

Barack Obama signed Rosa’s Law, which replaced the term “mental retardation” with

“intellectual disability” at the federal level of education, labor, and health services (Makofsky,

2014). The use of the word “retard” in a single book only could reflect two things. First, the books was written in the time period before the reclaiming and replacement of the terms. Second, that since the only use of the word was from a bully, it was solely used as a derogatory term intended to hurt Tyson who the insult was directed towards. The continued inclusion of the word in the 2013 graphic novel adaptation falls into the period after the word was officially replaced, so in this instance “retard” coming from a bully, therefore it is used as a deliberate derogatory 58 term against Tyson. The film adaption does not have the scene in which the word “retard” was used and does not feature any other different scenes that uses the word (Sea, directed by Thor

Freudenthal).

Once Percy and Tyson arrive at Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth forces Percy to see through the Mist and recognize that Tyson is a cyclops. As a cyclops, he is neither mortal nor a demigod.

Learning about his species helps the reader understand his childlike nature. Percy remarks that developmentally he is around 7 or 8 years old, even though he had been in Percy’s seventh grade class (Sea, 108). Although this point remains unexplored, one could infer from the relatively large size of cyclops, that it would be easy to mistake a cyclops child for a human teenager.

Tyson's mental development serves as a marker of difference from those around him. This is expressed most fully when Matt Sloan refers him to as a retard (Sea, 13). His mental capacity is also called into question by Tantalus, the camp activity director who him describes as belong to a group of "bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity" (Sea 63). He also has the physical markers of his species such as his single eye with its resulting vision issues and scars of past battles due to his half-godling scent and the monsters attacks he endures as a child, before getting into the school and meeting Percy.

Negative issues associated with cyclops are present through the early interactions with

Annabeth. Annabeth was defensive and skeptical of Tyson’s good nature, due to a traumatic experience she had with another cyclops. Annabeth's past was largely unexplored in the first novel. The readers got hints that something terrible happened when she, Luke Castellan, Thalia

Grace, and Grover Underwood were making their way towards Camp Half-Blood. She eventually reveals that a cyclops attacked the group. Using its ability to mimic voices, the cyclopes was able to separate them and lure them into a trap. Although they eventually escaped, 59 this event slowed their progress and allowed for several other monsters to catch up to the group.

By the time they got to Camp, they were overwhelmed by monsters and Thalia, daughter of

Zeus, was killed fighting the monsters on the top of Half-Blood Hill. In Annabeth’s mind, if the encounter with the cyclops had not happened, then Thalia would still be alive (Sea, 188-9). This encounter helps explain her hesitation to trust Tyson and view him as anything more than a monster. Due to this event, when the Tyson, Percy, and Annabeth cross paths with Luke

Castellan, he remarks to Annabeth that traveling with Tyson is a way of dishonoring Thalia's memory (Sea, 128). To Luke, Thalia’s death is the fault and responsibility of all cyclops, no matter who they are. To Annabeth, his words serve as a harsh reminder coming from a person she once admired.

Tyson is able to counteract some of the negative views by helping other Campers through his actions in the book series. After a while, Annabeth fully accepts him, and Percy is no longer afraid to refers to him as his “brother” since both are songs of Poseidon. After the successful quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece, Tyson goes to Poseidon’s underwater palace to work with other cyclops in their weapons forge (Sea, 273). During the Battle of Manhattan he leads his fellow cyclops into the battle and becomes known as the General of the Cyclops Army (Last, 233 and 348). In the Heroes of Olympus, series he plays a minor role, searching for Percy and helping protect the harpy Ella until she gets to the safety at Camp Half-Blood (Mark, 61). After the defeat of Gaea Tyson relocate to Camp Jupiter to be with his girlfriend Ella, who is the only remaining source of the Roman prophecies from the Sibylline Books (Blood, 484). In The Trials of Apollo, Tyson only makes an appearance in the fourth book The Tyrant’s Tomb (2019). Tyson and Ella are fully accepted at Camp Jupiter and are bookstore owners in New Rome. Both are actively in the process of rewriting the Sibylline Books as tattoos on Tyson’s body (Tyrant’s, 60

80). Since his interactions are only within Camp Jupiter, in this later series Tyson does not hide the fact that he is a cyclops.

In the second film adaption, Tyson remains a central character of the film's plot, but like all book-to-film adaptions, things were changed or left out altogether. The DVD release has a featurette called "It’s All in the Eye" in which the director, Thor Freudenthal, and the actor who plays Tyson, Douglas Smith, talk about the characterization choices made for Tyson. The film marker wanted have Tyson be the opposite of the monsters cyclopes are typically perceived to be. For the director “Tyson as a characters is really a metaphor for don’t judge a book by its cover”. The film adaption focused on the balance between monster and innocence that is part of

Tyson’s character.

"Ev'ry Demi has a special skill."

A disability is “a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition that impairs, interferes with, or limits a person's ability to engage in certain tasks or actions or participate in typical daily activities and interactions” (Webster Meriam). This basic definition will be used to address the other impairments being a demigod has on ones life. There are three main traits which further impair demigod’s lives: their scent, technology, and fatal flaw.

Scent

The smell of demigods is woven through the narratives as an alert method to monsters and satyrs. The stronger the godly parent is, the stronger the scent their child will have. Also, the older they are, and the more experienced monster fighters they are, the stronger their scents.

Satyrs use the scent of the Greek godly offspring t o identify demigods so they can escort them to

Camp Half-Blood and safety. The Roman counterpart, fauns, do not serve that purpose to Camp

Jupiter. Instead, fauns are viewed as lazy partiers who live off the support of others (Son, 50) 61

Monsters use scent to locate and challenge the demigods they come across outside the Camps.

Due to the protective borders of both Camps, it is rare for monsters to get into the Camps resulting in most monster interactions happening while demigods are away from Camp either questing or living their lives.

It should be noted that a demigods scent can be picked up by monsters and satyrs alike. In addition, monsters can smell both demigods and satyrs. The scent is another identifying marker that singles out demigods from their mortal counterparts. Their ability can be impact by two factors. First, they have to have the knowledge to interpret what are they are sensing. Tyson is able to sense monsters that are in his school but unable to get more specific then saying “they smell bad” (Sea, 15). Second, a monster’s or satyr’s sense of smell can be impacted by environmental factors. When underground in the Underworld or labyrinth Grover’s scenes is commonly off since those places always smell like monsters since they are close to Tartarus, the pit where dead monsters get reborn after their death (Lightning, 13) Another example of environmental effects is the Giant X thinks he smells Percy close by but another giant negates saying, “Of course you smell sea god! The sea is right over there!” (Son, 230). Environment can have an affect on the ability of a monsters or satyrs to correctly interpret what they are smelling.

A demigod’s scent can be stronger or weaker depending on a number of things. The reason Percy went unnoticed by monsters for many years was because of his contact with his stepfather Gabe, who smelt “so repulsively human” (Lightning, 159). Gabe’s scent was able to mask Percy’s strong demigod scent, helping him not to attract the notice of monsters in the area.

Eventually, monsters were attracted to him in a higher frequency as he no long stayed with Gabe and Percy’s scent grew as his power grew. In the novels, the scent of a demigod often serves as way for monsters to seek demigods out and challenge them to fight.

The adaptions of the trait remain the same but with minimal to no explanation. The films have ambiguous references to the trait. In the first film, Percy’s mother Sally remark that Gabe

“has been good to us, Percy, in ways you don’t understand” (Lightning, 00:09:00-00:09:15).

While in the second film the trait is just use to remark about monsters in the area and for Grover to sense the Golden Fleece (Sea, 00:33:10-00:33:16). The musical adaptation explains the trait in a song with Grover explaining, Half-bloods to monsters smell like Mickey-D's. Like tacos or takeout Vietnamese” (Rokicki, 47-54). A demigod’s scent becomes yet another way to distinguish them from their mortal counter parts.

Technology

Technology like cell phones and computers tend to act up when demigods try to use them and thus alert monsters to a demigod's presence. This is explained as a result of a demigod's "powers tended to make electronic gadgets go haywire" (Son, 94), and phones send

"up a signal, letting monsters know where you are" (Lost, 55). The lack of the ability to use technology, such as cell phones, often hurts the relationships between a demigod and their mortal parent, as they are often left in the dark when their child embarks on a quest. At the end of the Battle of Manhattan, Percy cannot simply call his mother and instead has to improvise a signal to let her known that he survived by asking Zeus to light the top of the Empire State

Building blue (Last, 108). Technology, in most cases, can only be used under extreme duress or with absolute protection. Chiron's office is shielded with bronze plating that helps dampen a demigod's broadcasting signal, allowing them to use technology for a little while, and this is only available to them rarely, in special circumstances (Lost, 524-5).

The only source of technology a demigod can use is a computer modified by the demigod Daedalus. Daedalus gives it to Annabeth as a gift to make up for his actions in The

Battle of the Labyrinth (Labyrinth, 334). The computer is viewed as different, because it was created by 63

Daedalus who in Riordan’s stories is a demigod himself, a child of Athena. Since the computer was made by a fellow demigod the knowledge of the effects was known during the construction of the computer and compensated for.

Disabled people can use a number of Assistive Technology (AT) to provided assistance in the elements of everyday life. AT can range from something as complex as hearing aids or wheel chairs to something as simple as large print text or planners to different types of pencil grips. The items used by a disabled person can vary depending on their individual needs and financial status (Hass and Gutierrez, 2018). Common AT for those with learning disabilities are speech-to-text software, audiobooks, graphic organizers, proofreading programs, and word predication software (Stanberry and Raskind, 2019). Due to a demigod’s inability to use technology without broadcasting their signal to monsters none of the AT are found within the series. Even for the characters who use physical disabilities to pass as human, there are no AT as well. Chiron seemingly uses a basic wheelchair in the book series and graphic novels, while

Grover uses nothing to assist him when walking.

The film adaptations do not use this explanation of the technology as the demigods are seen using cell phones, tablets, video games etc. The lack of an explanation about the perils of of technology, could be used as a way to update the adaptations or to be a form of product placement. Chiron, as Mr. Brunner, uses an electric wheelchair in the first film. The addition of

Grover’s crutches while in human form highlight a different type of AT known as assistive devices (Lightning, 00:06:00-00:06:36). Assistive devices help increase a user’s balance, provide a base of support, and increase mobility with less of an impact on the body (Bradley and

Hernandez, 2011). Technology lacks an explanation of in both the film and the musical.

Fatal Flaw

Fatal flaws vary with each demigod; some do not have a flaw explicitly mentioned, but it is made clear that they each have one that they have to identify and guard against. These flaws are seen in Greek mythology and other literary forms as "the flaw in character, which leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy" (“Tragic Flaw”). This can also be referred to as a tragic flaw in reference to Greek plays. These flaws are viewed as a shortcoming in a hero’s development as well as a personal characteristic (Tikkanen). In the book series, Riordan uses the term fatal flaw when discussing this in terms of his demigods.

To further distinguish between fatal flaw and a powerful weakness, such as the Achilles'

Heel, I will discuss the character, Frank Zhang. At the time of his birth, Juno appears proclaiming that he will be the most powerful member of his clan, but "Fate also decrees he will be the most vulnerable" (Son, 123). This is due to the fact that his life will be tied to a piece of wood that once it burns up, will also mark be the end of his life. His father, Mars the Roman God of War, explains that Frank has a different kind of weakness than the other demigods of the

Prophecy of the Seven (Son, 359-60). His family gift makes him powerful but his dependency on a piece of wood that slowly burns as he uses his powers makes him weak. Once the wood is wholly burnt, his life will be over (Son, 308). Frank's weakness is different from a fatal flaw, since it is dependent on an external force, not a personality trait. Another distinguishing trait between his weakness versus a fatal flaw is that Frank was able to fully overcome his weakness.

In The Tyrant's Tomb (2019), Frank’s piece of wood is fully burnt, but he survives with his life no longer being tied to the piece of wood. Apollo theorizes that Frank lived even after the wood burned because he made his own destiny by willingly choosing to bur n the wood in full during a battle at Camp Jupiter (Tyrant’s, 390-92). 65

Three main characters have their flaws highlighted throughout the book series. Percy

Jackson's flaw is personal loyalty to his family and friends. Annabeth Chase's flaw is hubris.

Finally, Nico di Angelo’s flaw is holding grudges, a flaw that extends to all children of Hades.

This section will examine each of these character's flaws and its impact on their lives.

Percy's flaw is noted multiple times as being personal loyalty to his family and friends. Mars explains to Frank that due to Percy's flaw Juno/Hera "believes she can control him.

All the others have weaknesses she can exploit" (Son, 359). Percy develops strong connections to those around him which allows for this manipulation. He can always be incited to fight when someone close to him is insulted. His loyalty is used against him, since it makes him predictable to those who know what his fatal flaw is. To Annabeth his flaw is marked by Percy not knowing

“when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world” (Titans,

298). Percy’s flaw is one of the most dangerous from demigods because of its ability to manipulate and Percy’s unwillingness to admit that is a flaw. Yet, Percy’s loyalty was beneficial in Heroes of Olympus, since his loyalty help keep the seven demigods of the Great Prophecy together throughout their quest is a large part of the reason for their eventual success.

Annabeth's fatal flaw is identified as hubris. This is common a flaw for heroes in Ancient

Greek myths. This trait is used for those who view themselves at the same level as the gods or are very prideful (Luebering). Her flaw is introduced in Sea of Monsters when the ship she and

Percy are traveling on pass a siren's cove. A siren’s song shows people their greatest dream, as the monsters lure the person to their bay to be drowned. In this scene, Percy plugs his own ears so he won’t hear the song and at her request ties Annabeth to the ship's mast so she can hear the song but won't hurt herself and dive overboard. The plan fails and Annabeth escapes. As Percy tries to bring her back, he catches a glimpse of the vision the sirens are showing her. The vision

66 depicts her reunited family, happy and eating in a New York City redesigned by Annabeth in a better image. Annabeth explains that she thinks she is better than everyone else even than the gods (Sea, 199-200).

Fatal flaws are not referenced in any of the film adaptations. The graphic novel version of

Sea of Monsters offers a full rendering of the scene in the novel. With the vision and conversation explaining the what a fatal flaw is taken exactly from the novel (Sea, adapted by

Venditti, 74-80). In the musical adaptation, Annabeth has a solo titled "My Grand Plan," in which she proclaims that "My grand plan is that I will be remembered. My grand plan, just you wait and see" (Rokicki, 55-61). Her flaw shows her she will because of her need to be on the quest with Percy, even though it was never assigned to her. To Annabeth, she is the most reasonable choice to go on the quest, because even though she's the same age as Percy, she has the most experience due to her extended time at Camp Half-Blood starting when she was seven.

Annabeth views herself as the only option for the quest even though there are older campers available. Annabeth reveals that she wanted a chance to prove that she was able regardless of her age.

Riordan uses fatal flaws as a way to develop the characters in his story. Many of the characters are made aware of their flaws and make choices that reinforce or break the flaw.

Annabeth's experience with her prideful flaw ultimately allowed her to recognize and defeat a foe who had the same flaw. During her battle with Arachne, a mortal turned into a spider after a a weaving battle with Athena, Annabeth began to recognize that she would not always be "the best person for every job" (Mark, 542). Due to her awareness of her hubris, Annabeth can use her views to her benefit, and with her awareness, she can make keep her fatal flaw in check. 67

Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, was first introduced in the Titan's Curse after Grover contacted Camp Half-Blood about finding two powerful demigods, Nico and his older sister

Bianca. His sister joins the Hunter of Artemis on the group's way to Camp. Bianca, Percy, and

Thalia go on a quest to the modern-day location of Mount Othrys in San Francisco. Before the quest, Nico makes Percy promise to take care of his sister on the quest. Bianca perishes on the quest in the Junkyard of the Gods, and her body is never found. Once the quest was complete,

Nico loses his temper and blames Percy for his sister's death (Titans, 139).

In the next book, The Battle of the Labyrinth, the ghost of Nico’s sister reveals that he has the fatal flaw of revenge, like most of Hades' children (Labyrinth, 167). This becomes a driving point for the rest of his characterization in the last two books of the series. Nico's actions reflect his need for is revenge as he seeks to hurt Percy for what he believes Percy did to Bianca. Due to his need for revenge, Nico is manipulated by the ghost of King Minos. Minos convinces Nico that the death of the labyrinth maker Daedalus is needed for both Nico’s and Minos’ revenge

(Labyrinth, 164-5). Nico is convinced that another soul scarified will bring back his sister from the dead. He ends up reconciling with Percy, and his need for revenge for his sister is no longer needed after the events of the fourth book. The soul sacrifice is let go as he decide that his sister should remain dead. During the final battle of the series, both Nico and his father Hades let go of their grudges against the gods and demigods to help with the final push against Kronos (Last,

316-17). After the events of the battle, Nico gains a place among his fellow campers since he is officially claimed by his father and they build him a cabin at Camp Half-Blood (Last, 376).

Nico’s own father, Hades’ flaw is seen in the series through a series of flashbacks. Hades sought revenge over the Oracle of Delphi for the death of Nico and Bianca’s mother Maria di

Angelo. The Oracle warned the family in enough time for the children to be escaped, but their 68 mother died in the lightning blast. Hades curses the spirit of Delphi to not be able to die by never having another mortal host and the current host to die but not be able to enter the afterlife. The curse would remai n until his children are no longer viewed as outcasts (Last, 209-11). This curse does get lifted after Hades and Nico join the Battle of Manhattan and Hades children are welcomed at Camp thanks to Percy’s insistence that all godly children are to be claimed and welcomed at Camp even if their parents are minor deities (Last, 316, 352-3). Hades fatal flaw remains in place even with the breaking of this single curse, as there are likely remains of his need for revenge since a fatal flaw is never overcome by those with one.

In some way, all demigods are faced with a fatal flaw like the heroes discussed in the section and those from Greek and Roman myths. Piper, a daughter of Aphrodite and of

Cherokee descent on her father’s side, remarks, "all demigods had their share of bad spirits inside. Fatal flaws. Some cries bought them out. Some line shouldn't be crossed" (Blood, 192).

To Piper, one's flaw is always lurking but only can be enacted with a specific situation. These situations can bring out the flaw for better or worse, depending on one's actions and setting. For characters like Percy and Nico, the recognition of the flaw allows for their efforts to counteract expected behaviors. For others like Annabeth, their actions reflect the ultimate impairment of their fatal flaws.

Chapter Conclusion

Wien (2013) remarks that Riordan uses physical disabilities as a way to "hide the remarkable characteristics in the world of the Greek gods" (154). This use of disabilities provides a disguise that allows for interactions with in mortal world. Yet, the use of these disabilities could negate people who truly have these disabilities. By performing a reverse passing technique Chiron, Grover, and Tyson, use the expectations of disabilities to fit into the 69 mortals around them. The three traits of scent, technology, and fatal flaw further distinguish demigods from the mortals around them. These traits often hinder their ability to seek accommodations. 70

CONCLUSION

Rick Riordan's demigods present a positive portrayal of learning disabilities, ADHD, and dyslexia, making them shared traits with most of his powerful demigods heroes. Yet, his use of the LD becomes a superpowered supercrip narrative because of the author's use of the traits as explanations for being a demigod. Superpowered supercrip, as defined by Schalk (2104), is when a superpower comes as a direct effect of a disability or disabilities in Riordan's case. This is most apparent through the author's use of the LD are part of a creation myth to explain the origins of the disabilities.

Media and literary narratives that feature disabilities can have adverse effects on the community of focus and the way a disability becomes viewed. They can also provide positive representations and normalization of disability. The inclusion of disabilities in children literature has grown in content and scholarship as a reflection of the Disabilities Rights Movement and accompanying laws. People with disabilities became more visible as they entered the mainstream school and public spaces.

The inclusion of the performed disabilities by mythical creatures Chiron, Grover, and

Tyson uses a reverse passing technique. These characters pass as humans by playing off of the expectations of disabilities to mask their mythical creature traits. Demigods’ lives are further impacted through their additional three of traits scent, inability to use technology, and fatal flaw.

The traits further other them from non-demigod mortals and hinder their lives in some way.

Similar to the learning disabilities, these traits become significant points of their characterization, but as the story progresses, references to each tapper off in favor of continuing the story.

The limitations of this study lay in the use of a single author and only three of his five series. The Kane Chronicles (2010-2012) features a character with an unnamed chronic illness.

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard (2015-2017) features a deaf character. Those series were 71 excluded in this thesis in favor of the Greek and Roman retellings, which uses overarching disability traits and mythological characters who perform disabilities. The excluded series could be reviewed for the elements of disabilities they use in a future study.

The "Own Voice" movement provides an individualized look at people from different cultural backgrounds, sexuality, and disabilities by authors within those groups. Since Riordan does not have a disability, he relies on his exposure to traits from his time as a teacher and a father of a child with learning disabilities. I believe this recent movement would provide interesting research for further scholarship on representation. 72

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