Theme
The theme of this book is working hard reaps the rewards. This is expressed numerous times throughout the book like when Percy goes on the quest, when he comes back he turns into praetor, and when Mars (the god) comes out and openly talks about it using the Chinese proverb “eat bitter, taste sweet” and numerous other moments in the book. The proverb means that the hard path gives you the reward or prize. As in you must endure and you will win or succeed. An example would be that it is easier not to study for the semester exam the night before and play video games (we must assume that you did not have the time to study and a before time). But if you study for the semester exam (let’s say it is an impossibly hard semester exam which can only be passed with some preparation beforehand) you actually might score well. Another example would be if you live in the Arctic Circle or nearby. Even though you have to endure many hardships while living there, when the zombies start taking over the world the good thing is you won’t be affected because zombies can’t live in the cold. So working hard reap the rewards.