The Last Olympian

Dreams and visions are a prominent motif in The Last Olympian and relate to the novel’s theme of interconnectivity. Dreams serve various purposes, the first to reveal the past and help the characters better understand each other. For example, Percy travels to May Castellan’s house in order to better understand his perceived enemy, Luke. Outside of the house, Hestia shows Percy a vision of Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth when they were younger. This vision helps Percy better understand his enemy. Similarly, Nico conjures up a vision to explain his early life, of which he has no memory. He glimpses a scene in which Zeus blows up a building and his mother dies. Thus, learning about the past allows these characters to better understand their present selves. 

Dreams and visions also allow characters to see what is happening in the present in different locations. Percy has many of these visions, and early on in the novel he notes: “I dreamed Rachel Elizabeth Dare was throwing darts at my picture” (63). This vision allows Percy to relate to Rachel’s current feelings of frustration with him. Later, he sees Rachel writing his name in the sand after she receives a revelation about him.