The Labors of Hercules Beal

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2023

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-5

Chapters 6-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-14

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 12-14Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 12 Summary: “The Cattle of Geryon”

The 10th labor of the mythical hero was to find the purple cattle of Geryon. Along the way, he encountered many obstacles and erected stone markers on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. The boy questions how so many things could have gone wrong for the mythical Hercules until his own world starts to crumble. Viola is no longer around. Sullen, Achilles refuses to talk. Hercules decides to visit Viola. When he arrives, she invites him in for dinner, and they talk about Achilles’s inability to express his feelings. Then, Viola asks why Hercules calls her a vampire. He admits that if he believes this, it will not hurt if they lose her. Recognizing his honesty, she professes that he is no longer a “baby” brother. Then, she shares her plans to go to medical school, which means that she might be away for a while. Achilles has known this all along.

The next night, Hercules confronts his brother, revealing that he does like Viola and accusing Achilles of being a “jerkface.” Hercules remarks that sometimes one can prevent losing a loved one, which is the case with Viola. When Achilles confesses his fears, Hercules insists that he wait for her to return from medical school. When Achilles leaves to talk with Viola, Hercules calls Elly, who is in Ohio with her mother because her parents are separated. They are both upset, but they find comfort in looking at the same constellation.

Viola returns, and, in the mornings, she accompanies Hercules and Achilles to the Dune for sunrise. Hercules muses that if Elly were there too, it would be perfect. They erect posts in the yard to represent the three of them. The next day, he calls Elly, and she divulges that she will not return because her parents are splitting up. Hercules takes the news hard, but they agree to talk every day and never say goodbye. Later, when the boy expresses his sadness to Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer, the man tells him that he has fought worse monsters than any the mythical hero faced, and despite that, Hercules is still here. The man gives him one of his military medals.

In his reflection, Hercules notes that his namesake’s 10th labor was about how to survive when everything goes wrong. The boy has done this and even has stone pillars in his yard like those the hero left in the Mediterranean. Hercules earns an “A-.”

Chapter 13 Summary: “The Golden Apples of the Hesperides”

As his classmates finish their projects, Hercules still has two labors to complete. Meanwhile, Achilles and Viola get engaged and plan a two-week trip to Hawaii to visit her parents. When Achilles worries about Beal Brothers Farm and Nursery, Hercules insists that he can manage. A plan is made for Mrs. Bontemps to cook meals and for two employees from another nursery to help with the business while Hercules is in school.

Once Viola and Achilles leave, Hercules fixes a problem with the hoses in the greenhouse before school. Between classes, he finds that the employees have not arrived yet. After fourth period, he checks again, and they are there, eating Tootsie Pops. Later, they accidentally cut power, and multiple customers walk out. After school, Hercules works vigorously to make up for their laziness. The next morning, Hercules leaves a list of tasks for the workers. One does not show up, and the other accomplishes nothing. The next three days are the same, and Hercules is exhausted. On Friday, a ranger from the Cape Cod National Seashore calls the Nursery, angry he has not received his delivery of 125 crab apple trees. Hercules promises them by Monday morning and promptly fires the two employees.

On Saturday, when an exhausted Hercules is about to close the Nursery for the night, Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer arrives and is surprised that the boy is alone. Hercules reveals his problem of delivering the trees by Monday. The Lieutenant Colonel offers manpower if Hercules can secure transportation and someone to run the store. Later, his garden-obsessed neighbors, the Gauches, agree to help with the Nursery, and Mr. Moby offers his school bus as transportation. The next morning, all faculty and administrators from the Academy arrive, and by the end of the day, the delivery is successful.

Hercules reflects that the biggest challenge for the mythical hero was to complete the labors alone although he had help retrieving the Golden Apples of the Hesperides. The boy realizes that life is better when he accepts help but shares that he feels responsible for his parents’ deaths. In Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer’s response, he refutes Hercules’s responsibility and adds that he and all the teachers at the Academy will always be there for Hercules.

Chapter 14 Summary: “Cerberus”

Hercules is the only one who has not presented his project, because he still has one more labor. He worries because the mythical hero’s final task was to visit the Underworld and retrieve Cerberus, the three-headed dog. Uneasy, Hercules wonders how he will accomplish going to hell and back. Then, he learns that Achilles was in a car accident. Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer takes him to the hospital, where he waits with Viola, just like he did a year ago after the car crash that killed his parents. He is in hell. Although Hercules feels the same terror he did with his parents, this time he is not alone, because the waiting room fills with neighbors, classmates, and teachers. Around midnight, the doctor tells them Achilles is out of surgery. Viola stays, but Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer and his wife take Hercules home. When they arrive, a storm breaks loose. Mindy and Pirate Cat are uneasy, so Hercules sings them a lullaby. The next morning, Hercules goes to the Dune for sunrise, but it is gone, flattened by the storm. At the hospital, Achilles wakes.

Despite relief at Achilles’s recovery, Hercules is still in hell because he misses Elly. With Achilles in the clear, Hercules convinces Viola to drive him to Ohio. Achilles tells Hercules he loves him before the two leave. On the way, Viola and Hercules encounter snow and are in an accident, causing the car to flip. It lands upright, and they continue driving. In Ohio, Elly and Hercules kiss for the first time, and he compares being with her to “walking out into the sunshine after a long, long night” (342). Hercules is back from hell.

At home, Hercules presents his project. He makes three conclusions. First, Hercules must accept his flaws and try to improve himself. Second, surviving hell and returning means that he must truly live his life. Finally, Hercules is “no longer a secret to himself” (344). Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer remains silent, making Hercules wonder if the man is still a secret to himself.

Even though the mythical hero went to Mount Olympus after his labors, this Hercules stays where he is, enjoying school and the family business. Achilles continues to write, and galleys arrive for his latest article about beautiful Truro. When Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer assigns a novel a week for the rest of the year, he remarks that the world is tough. Hercules agrees but knows he is a survivor with more to do.

Chapters 12-14 Analysis

Hercules shows marked growth during these labors as instead of keeping things inside, he is finally honest with himself and others. When he visits Viola, she confronts him about his belief that she is a vampire. Instead of listing all the “signs” she exhibits, he notes, “I decided to tell the truth—I guess because I knew what it was for the first time” (273). This truth is that if Viola really were a vampire, “it wouldn’t matter […] if [they] lost [her] too” (273). The boy admits his fear of losing loved ones. Calling her a vampire allows him to believe that he does not care about her. This admission leads to Viola no longer calling him a “baby brother,” which symbolizes his growing maturity. Furthermore, in a reflection for Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer, the boy admits to feeling guilty for his parents’ deaths. This is the first time he has fully articulated these thoughts to himself or another person. Previously, he has hinted at his guilt but always interrupts himself. In this assignment, he names what he is feeling, a sign of growing maturity.

Additionally, the theme of Community Impact on Individual Healing is evident in multiple ways. First, Hercules is the “community” that brings Viola and Achilles back together. He encourages his brother to see the situation in a new light and to wait for Viola. Furthermore, Hercules and Elly need each other to work through the pain of her parents’ separation and the physical distance between them. When they promise not to say goodbye, they look at the same constellations, and Hercules notes, “We went on like that for a long time, choosing stars, laughing, being okay I guess, not losing each other, so glad we were in the same galaxy, sharing the stars” (279). Their human connection, despite the distance, allows them to “be okay” and work through the pain of separation. Even though they are apart, they have found a way to be together. Finally, the theme manifests on a larger scale when neighbors and teachers step in to deliver the crab apple trees. In this endeavor, they help Hercules out of a jam, and they demonstrate the power of community. In his reflection, he notes that “it’s a whole lot better to be not alone” (317), and he shares his love of his parents and his guilt. By revealing all this to Lieutenant Colonel Hupfer, Hercules can move through his grief.

Finally, the repetition of the sunrise brings the theme of The Significance of Setting on Personal Development to its conclusion. The landscape and sunrise reflect finding beauty and human connection. Initially, Hercules visits the Dune alone, but now, he is accompanied by both Achilles and Viola. After the couple reconciles, Hercules describes, “[T]ogether we watched while the sun rose in bright-colored ribbons, and then the sunlight broke through all the ribbons and shone full against all three of us, and we spread out our arms to take it in” (280-81). Enjoying the beautiful sunrise allows Hercules and Achilles to let love back into their lives, represented by their arms spread open and by the fact that they are together. The continued importance of the sunrise ritual is underscored by the fact that when Achilles and Viola are in Hawaii and Hercules must manage the business alone, he still goes to the Dune each morning, despite being utterly exhausted. His daily visits provide comfort. Furthermore, after Achilles’s accident and the storm’s obliteration of the Dune, Hercules observes the same sea and the same sunrise and understands that “it was okay” (332). Like the sun continues to rise without the Dune, Hercules must go on with his life. The breathtaking scenery provides lessons and represents change, thus helping Hercules grow as a human being.