The Struggle Inside

 

      So you all may be looking at my title thinking to yourself "Is this some kind of  horror film?" or "Woah that's deep". The purpose of my post today is to discuss the conflict in The House of Hades. More specifically the conflict I see hapenning between some of the characters and themselves. That's why I chose "The Struggle Inside" as my title. I thought it was pretty creative and catchy, I don't know about you guys. Anyway back on the topic of conflict. There definately is other types of conflict in the book. For example, the battle betweeen the demigods and Gaea and her monsters. For this post, I just want to focus on the character to self conflict. I think it's more relateable. I mean how many people do you know who are at war with a Greek goddess who is sending a bunch of monsters to kill you?! If you do know some one who has this issue, I would love to hear their story!

 

     One character in particular that I have noticed who is struggling with herself is Hazel Levesque. Hazel is a daughter of Pluto (the Roman form of Hades). Hazel finds out that towards the end of her quest she will have to face an enemy alone. Hecate, goddess of magic, tells Hazel she will have to use the magic of the Mist to defeat her. There is a chance that Hazel may not survive. Hecate gave her three paths to choose. Hazel picks the most dangerous and difficult path. It was the only one that had a chance of keeping all of her friends alive. However, it's the one where she has the least chance of making it. Hazel's half brother, Nico is also a child of Pluto. If they are to succeed in their quest only one of them will make it to close the Doors of Death to stop Gaea. The text says, "Nico had warned her [Hazel]. He'd communed with the dead, heard them whispering things about their future. Two children of the Underworld would enter the House of Hades. They would face an impossible foe. Only one of them would make it to the Doors of Death" (Riordan 32). Talk about a bad day, poor Hazel. All this bad news she's getting is really taking its toll.

     Hazel constantly battles with herself after hearing all of this news. She isn't sure if she has the courage to go on with it all. During her account with Hecate she learns about a path where she and some of her friends could escape and not have to particiapate in the war. "A small, guilty part of Hazel found that appealing. She'd secretly been wishing for the chance to be a normal girl. She didn't want any more pain or suffering for herself and her friends They'd already been through so much" (Riordan 24).There isn't a one hundred percent chance of everyone making it through the quest. Her own brother may have to die for her to servive. Or it could be the other way around. No matter what though she has to decide if she is going to finish her quest or save her own skin. I think reading this, most of us would like to say we would risk ourselves for our friends. However, when our own life was actually in anger, would we still make that decsion? Let me know in the comments below what you think!

For a full explanation of Hazel's character and role in the book click here.