The Hidden Oracle

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Dreams and Oracles”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of the significance of dreams and oracles in the text by composing and performing their own dream scenes and oracular pronouncements.

In The Hidden Oracle, dreams and oracles offer characters information about future events. In this activity, you will work with a group to write and perform one dream and one prophecy that foretell important plot events.

Prepare:

• Review the scenes in the story in which characters hear prophecies and have prophetic dreams. Take note of how the dreams and prophecies give indirect hints regarding what will happen instead of clearly spelling things out. Notice how the dreams use both action and dialogue to communicate, and that the prophecies are a bit like riddles.
• Choose 2 significant scenes from 2 different locations in the text (separated by at least 50 pages). Choose scenes that are not already predicted by the dreams and prophecies in the story.

Write:

• Write a dream sequence that predicts the events of one of the scenes you chose. Use the same techniques to communicate that you see used in the dreams in the story.
• Write a prophecy that predicts the events of the other scene you chose. Use the same techniques to communicate that you see used in the prophecies in the story.
• When you perform your scenes for the class, they will guess which events you are predicting; try to provide clear but indirect clues.

Perform:

• Decide which group members will perform the dream and who will be your group’s oracle.
• Perform your dream and your prophecy for the class.

Teaching Suggestion: Group size may impact overall activity length: The larger the groups are, the less time will be required for the performances. Students will benefit from a predetermined method for making guesses on which textual events each group’s performance refers to; for example, students might write their answers down, to increase individual accountability, or they might make guesses aloud, giving the performers instant feedback. After all groups have finished, students might extend this activity by explaining the connection of dreams and oracles to the text’s thematic interest in The Power of Communication.

Differentiation Suggestion: Literal thinkers may benefit from support in creating dreams and oracles that refer obliquely rather than directly to upcoming events. Discussing one or two examples from Riordan’s text before beginning the activity, and stressing how the predictions convey information indirectly, may be helpful. Students with anxiety or other conditions impacting their ability to perform in front of peers might be offered the role of oracle, which involves less “acting,” or, where appropriate, contribute by preparing props or costume pieces and/or directing staging.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Several colors are used symbolically in The Hidden Oracle. Choose one color as the focus of your response.

• What is the symbolic significance of this color? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss at least 3 pieces of evidence from different places in the text that support your interpretation. Is this color symbolism used in bold or subtle ways? How does this symbolic importance contribute to the plot?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, briefly explain how the meaning of this color supports one or more of the book’s larger thematic concerns.

2. The relationship between fathers and their children is one of the book’s thematic motifs. Choose two fathers from this story as the focus of your response.

• What is the most significant point of comparison about the relationships these two fathers have with their children? (topic sentence)
• Summarize and discuss at least 3 pieces of evidence from the text that support the significance of this comparison. How does the juxtaposition of these fathers impact the tone and mood of the story?
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how these two relationships help develop the book’s larger point about Intergenerational Trauma: The Father-Child Relationship.

3. Apollo is the god of poetry, and he uses poetry several times in this story.

• What are the characteristics of the poetry Apollo uses, and what is his purpose in using it? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss at least 3 pieces of evidence from the text that support your interpretation of Apollo’s purpose.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the effectiveness of Apollo’s use of poetry in developing The Power of Communication.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Two important techniques Riordan uses in The Hidden Oracle are pastiche and irony. What is the relationship between these techniques? How does the book combine elements from different types of literature, different time periods, and different cultures? How do these various combinations create surprising humor and contradictions and contribute to the book’s ironic effect? Write a 3- or 5-paragraph essay analyzing how irony and pastiche work together in this book. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the book, making sure to cite any quoted material.

2. In The Hidden Oracle, Nero and two other emperors work together to form Triumvirate Holdings. What is a “triumvirate”? What famous triumvirates held power in Ancient Rome? How would you describe the men who held power in these triumvirates, and what happened to them? In what way is the name “Triumvirate Holdings” a piece of foreshadowing? Write a 3-paragraph essay analyzing why Riordan might have chosen to allude to the triumvirates of Ancient Rome with the name of this company. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the book, making sure to cite any quoted material and any evidence drawn from outside sources.

3. Nero’s claim to be a “god-emperor” angers Apollo. What ideas about being a god are at the heart of their differing attitudes? Which side do the book’s plot and characterizations seem to support? Write a 3- or 5-paragraph essay analyzing the book’s ideas about what makes a god a god. Show how the status of gods relates to the book’s larger concerns with Immortality Versus Mortality. Support your arguments with evidence drawn from throughout the book, making sure to cite any quoted material.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Who is the book’s narrator?

A) Apollo

B) Zeus

C) Percy

D) Meg

2. Which character is not a god or demigod?

A) Percy

B) Meg

C) Leo

D) Sally

3. Which statement reveals an important way that Apollo changes during the story?

A) He learns the value of hard work.

B) He learns to stand up for himself.

C) He becomes less self-involved.

D) He becomes more truthful and open.

4. Which idea is a repeated pattern (motif) in the book’s plot?

A) Vivid dreams

B) Talking statues

C) Gourmet meals

D) Horse races

5. Of these responses, which one is Apollo is the god of?

A) War

B) Prophecy

C) Crops

D) Oceans

6. Which item is most clearly used in this story as a symbol of mortality?

A) Trees

B) Rachel’s cave

C) The sun

D) Blood

7. What do Rhea and Meg have in common?

A) Both are working for Nero.

B) Both are associated with nature.

C) Both are Demeter’s children.

D) Both are associated with lions.

8. Which character represents what Apollo might become if he allows his worst instincts to control him?

A) Leo

B) Python

C) Nero

D) Chiron

9. Which item is most clearly used in this story as a symbol for nature itself?

A) Fruit

B) Birds

C) Grass

D) Horses

10. Which statement is the most accurate description of the meaning of fire in this book?

A) It symbolizes the danger of unchecked anger.

B) It foreshadows the threat to Camp Half-Blood.

C) It symbolizes both hope and destruction.

D) It foreshadows the return of Leo Valdez.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. What makes the labyrinth similar to Riordan’s novel itself? Explain you response using textual examples.

2. What part of his background makes Apollo especially sympathetic to Meg’s situation?