The Lightning Thief

by

Rick Riordan

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Grover is a young satyr tasked with looking out for Percy at Yancy Academy. Grover is in his early 20s, but he has the maturity level of a middle school student since satyrs only grow half as fast as humans do. He often wears a “rasta-style” cap to cover his horns when his curly hair isn’t enough, and while they’re at Yancy, Percy believes that Grover is a normal kid with a muscle disorder that prevents him from running. He later discovers that this is part of Grover’s disguise. Additionally, Grover must fit his cloven hooves into human shoes using Styrofoam and his shoes are liable to come off if he runs. Percy believes that Grover is a normal kid up until the Minotaur attacks and Grover reveals that he’s a mythical creature who’s been sent to protect Percy from monsters. Grover’s personality reflects Percy’s initial read on the kind of person Grover is: Grover is capable of being brave when he has to be, but he’s generally disinterested in conflict and considers himself a failure. This is because, five years before the novel begins, Grover’s first keeper assignment went horribly: he was assigned to protect Thalia, Zeus’s demigod daughter, but he failed to do so. He did manage to save Luke and Annabeth instead, but the Council of Cloven Elders failed Grover on his assignment anyway. Grover has to live with the guilt and the knowledge that he’s the reason Thalia is dead, even though Percy and Annabeth insist that Grover did the right thing. Grover agrees to go on Percy’s quest in part so that he can prove himself to the Council—he desperately wants to become a searcher so he can go look for the god Pan, and he must complete a keeper’s assignment first. However, Grover also goes because his friendship with Percy is genuine and strong. For much of the novel, Grover acts as a voice of reason and as someone who can interpret Percy’s conflicted emotions. He doesn’t always know exactly what’s going on, but he’s always more than ready to help his friends when they need it. After the quest, Grover earns his searcher’s license and leaves to look for Pan.

Grover Quotes in The Lightning Thief

The The Lightning Thief quotes below are all either spoken by Grover or refer to Grover. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“Will Grover be okay?” I asked Chiron.

Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. “Old Dionysus isn’t really mad. He just hates his job. He’s been...ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can’t stand waiting another century before he’s allowed to go back to Olympus.”

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Chiron/Mr. Brunner (speaker), Grover, Dionysus/Mr. D
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn’t think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I’d ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn’t sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he’d be with me.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Chiron/Mr. Brunner
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

[...] “Look...we’re just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals.”

“Why?”

She sighed. “How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena’s temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron saint for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her.”

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Annabeth Chase (speaker), Grover, Poseidon, Athena
Page Number: 157
Explanation and Analysis:

“You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn’t lived with him every summer, you probably would’ve been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must’ve loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better.”

Related Characters: Grover (speaker), Percy Jackson, Mom/Sally Jackson, Smelly Gabe
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

I looked at them both, and felt really grateful. Only a few minutes before, I’d almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for my sake, trying to make me feel better.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Annabeth Chase, Procrustes/Crusty
Page Number: 284
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

Immediately I knew that’s where I wanted to go when I died.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. That’s the place for heroes.”

But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Annabeth Chase (speaker), Grover
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

“More security ghouls,” he moaned. “Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!”

[...]

“Problems everywhere, and I’ve got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving.”

Related Characters: Hades (speaker), Percy Jackson, Grover, Annabeth Chase, Zeus, Poseidon
Page Number: 311-12
Explanation and Analysis:

I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. [...] I had spent thousands of miles worried that I’d be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Mom/Sally Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Hades
Page Number: 317
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

“Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn’t know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going on.”

“But they’re your family!” Annabeth protested.

Ares shrugged. “Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say.”

Related Characters: Annabeth Chase (speaker), Ares (speaker), Percy Jackson, Grover, Hades, Zeus, Poseidon
Page Number: 322
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

I moved back into cabin three, but it didn’t feel so lonely anymore. I had my friends to train with during the day. At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing my father was out there. Maybe he wasn’t quite sure about me yet, maybe he hadn’t even wanted me born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what I’d done.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Annabeth Chase, Poseidon
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis:
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Grover Quotes in The Lightning Thief

The The Lightning Thief quotes below are all either spoken by Grover or refer to Grover. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity, Heroism, and Normalcy Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“Will Grover be okay?” I asked Chiron.

Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. “Old Dionysus isn’t really mad. He just hates his job. He’s been...ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can’t stand waiting another century before he’s allowed to go back to Olympus.”

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Chiron/Mr. Brunner (speaker), Grover, Dionysus/Mr. D
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn’t think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I’d ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn’t sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he’d be with me.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Chiron/Mr. Brunner
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

[...] “Look...we’re just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals.”

“Why?”

She sighed. “How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena’s temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron saint for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her.”

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Annabeth Chase (speaker), Grover, Poseidon, Athena
Page Number: 157
Explanation and Analysis:

“You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn’t lived with him every summer, you probably would’ve been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must’ve loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better.”

Related Characters: Grover (speaker), Percy Jackson, Mom/Sally Jackson, Smelly Gabe
Page Number: 159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18 Quotes

I looked at them both, and felt really grateful. Only a few minutes before, I’d almost gotten them stretched to death on deluxe water beds, and now they were trying to be brave for my sake, trying to make me feel better.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Annabeth Chase, Procrustes/Crusty
Page Number: 284
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

Immediately I knew that’s where I wanted to go when I died.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Annabeth said, like she was reading my thoughts. That’s the place for heroes.”

But I thought of how few people there were in Elysium, how tiny it was compared to the Fields of Asphodel or even the Fields of Punishment. So few people did good in their lives. It was depressing.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Annabeth Chase (speaker), Grover
Page Number: 302
Explanation and Analysis:

“More security ghouls,” he moaned. “Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!”

[...]

“Problems everywhere, and I’ve got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving.”

Related Characters: Hades (speaker), Percy Jackson, Grover, Annabeth Chase, Zeus, Poseidon
Page Number: 311-12
Explanation and Analysis:

I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. They had both been with me through so much. [...] I had spent thousands of miles worried that I’d be betrayed by a friend, but these friends would never do that. They had done nothing but save me, over and over, and now they wanted to sacrifice their lives for my mom.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Mom/Sally Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Hades
Page Number: 317
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

“Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn’t know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going on.”

“But they’re your family!” Annabeth protested.

Ares shrugged. “Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say.”

Related Characters: Annabeth Chase (speaker), Ares (speaker), Percy Jackson, Grover, Hades, Zeus, Poseidon
Page Number: 322
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22 Quotes

I moved back into cabin three, but it didn’t feel so lonely anymore. I had my friends to train with during the day. At night, I lay awake and listened to the sea, knowing my father was out there. Maybe he wasn’t quite sure about me yet, maybe he hadn’t even wanted me born, but he was watching. And so far, he was proud of what I’d done.

Related Characters: Percy Jackson (speaker), Grover, Annabeth Chase, Poseidon
Page Number: 355
Explanation and Analysis: